The Oath
by The Omnipresent Sage
Summary: "I will purge all evil against the Empire, I will make Honest experience pain, I will break Esdeath apart, and lastly, my black flames will burn the shackles that bind the kingdom with forces of hell"
1. Chapter 1

**Zero: Part One**

''What is the meaning of this, Esdeath?'' Naruto spoke in a low growl, turning around to face the General. He was currently strolling alone in the outskirts of the capital.

A wall of ice had blocked his path and another quickly formed beneath him, quickly freezing him from his feet to the upper right side. He quickly melted the ice away with the glorious flames of the 9th hell.

Normally, he would've brushed it off aside as Esdeath trying to have fun, but her killing Intent gave it all away. The woman was indeed always leaking a pure wave of killing intent and blood lust, however, this time he knew that it was different. He'd spent much more time around her, in the middle battle, and other places to her enough.

He noted that she wasn't alone; she had Budo along with her. The sight of the man made him scowl and release another growl. His skin tightened, and eyes became sharp as the eyes of a vulture calculating the movements of its prey. The blood inside him burst into bubbles of hot liquid that heated up his body.

In simple words, the very sight of that time infuriated him to end, it made his whole personality flip and turn another corner.

Esdeath could only grin in barely contained anticipation, and excitement that tingled her entire body like soft kisses of a sweet lover. There were no words that could explain what she felt inside of her heart. She could feel her heart drumming against her rib cage like it was down on the dance floor, moved by the fast melody of dance music.

A poet was perhaps needed to explain what she truly felt, even though he couldn't take it all out into account, but he could mix a bit of this and a bit of that to make it sound like it was what she felt.

The excitement she felt was almost making her blush, an orgasm was possibly on its way. ''It is what you think it is, Naruto.'' Finally, she spoke, her blood lust making a scent that frightened the wild animals that found home within the colorful forest.

''You are attacking me. Do you wish to kill me, Esdeath?'' His eyes grew red because of the crimson liquid that was burning inside of him. The air around him caught the heat, dispelling anything that might try to fly towards him.

For now, he ignored the presence of the man beside Esdeath. Talking to the fool would only put more fire under the pot that was cooking him. He liked this forest too much to see it crumble into a heap of black dust. For now, he would deal with the blue haired woman whose grinned sickened him.

''Not at all,'' Esdeath responded quietly. However, her action was a contradiction to her words. She got hold of her weapon and grabbed it firmly with her right hand. For a moment she allowed it to dance about the air. She could barely hold her excitement to this level. ''I only hope to beat some senses to you. However, if it can't be helped, you will die.''

…**Five Months ago….**

Many men perish trying to take a hike into the path of righteousness; many lose their ways and forget who they truly are. That was just life. To live is to think, and to be alive is to move forward. The mind always thinks, but not everything is fruitful, not everything leads a man into the right path.

Because we are alive, we see the world in different ways, and could only hope to understand what the other is thinking. It is understanding that makes it possible for everyone to be able to accommodate each other. If people couldn't understand the others' ideals and believes, then humans couldn't co-exist as one race.

Battles would be continuously waged around this precious earth and new streams of blood would be formed. Earth would feed on the flesh of men and spit out their bones. The understanding is what brought humans together. However, not everyone was willing to understand the other. Some only wanted to hear the sound of their own voice and live for their own personal satisfaction.

Such people were those who brought about chaos and destruction. When there was chaos and destruction, tears of agony always found a way to escape the eyes and smoothly slide on the cheeks of men. Chaos gave birth to children that loved no one but themselves. There was no understanding in the eyes of chaos, the only thing there was is destruction.

Naruto found himself in a delicate situation, in all these years he's been in the army; the only thought that came to him was to protect the empire. He'd joined the army with that goal, to protect this home of his. Yes, he'd sworn with the glorious flames of purgatory to protect the peace of the Empire.

However, once he'd grown strong and in ranks and ended up in the group of Esdeath, he'd been forced to see horrible things that plastered bloody images across his mind. Being a soldier of the kingdom was no walking around the capital with a gun placed carefully around the waist like the Imperial Police. No, being an officer of the army meant watching humans scream in agony, with unbearable pain gripping them to death.

Such images he'd seen had not shook his idea of protecting the Kingdom. Although he found himself disgusted by how Esdeath dealt with her enemies, he also couldn't show mercy to the enemy. He'd lived long enough and seen many things to know that pitying the enemy attracted a painful reminder at your doorstep; the devil will always be the devil, evil couldn't be painted white.

You could give it a mask of purity, but behind the mask that glaring evil will always be there, and sooner or later, the mask would come out, and it would pounce on you.

Rising through the ranks of the Army hadn't been easy, but he rose and made it to a high ground. He rose high and became a General. Rising up that high only opened his eyes further. He'd thought that the rebellious villages outside the capital were the enemies since he'd spent much of his time there in the battle lines.

However, when he dived deep into the crushing sea waves of the Capital, he found that evil lied there. The root of all evil controlled the kingdom. Such thing was unpalatable. He who vowed to protect the kingdom from anyone, anything, and couldn't watch vermin control innocent people. It didn't matter how people saw him, as long as he did what he viewed as right, nothing else mattered.

For a year now, he'd been thinking of a way to go about his things, and protect the kingdom from the vermin that smiled within the Emperor's palace. Such bloody thirsty piece meat shouldn't be allowed to live. This thought has brought him to think of what was the right thing to do.

The path of righteousness dictated that he kill the vermin and remove its tainting existence from the capital before it baths the kingdom in more sins. The only question that lingered inside his mind without an answer was whether he would also perish trying to seek this path of righteous. Perhaps he would, perhaps he wouldn't.

He wouldn't know unless he tried.

A hand hit him on the forehead breaking his link to his thoughts. Naruto looked up to see a beautiful black haired woman standing in front of his small desk. She was wearing the usual military uniform, and had black eyes. Her hair was long, and tired into a pony tail that was hanging loosely on her right shoulder. A sweet smile was plastered across her face and her eyes were filled with warmth.

''You have that look again,'' Miya said, looking at him a bit sternly. She didn't like it when he always wore that concentrated look on his face like he was planning to a frontal assault on a worthy foe. She knew exactly what he was thinking when he carried that look.

''I can't help it,'' Naruto responded quietly. ''It has become worse these days with the Emperor dead and the royal family locked in a power struggle.''

''Politics isn't for you, Naruto. You've been protecting the Empire by ridding of its enemies for these long, don't start questioning yourself and don't get involved in politics.'' Miya said as she walked away from the blond and took his bed to sit down. ''Didn't you say you hate politics, anyway?''

''I don't hate it; I just find it bothersome. I would rather swing my blade than spend my time sweet talking old farts that care for nothing but their pockets,'' the distaste was clearly evident in his tone. ''I am, however, not questioning myself Miya. My ideals have not changed, but I question the current state of the Empire.''

''Things have taken a new turn since Honest became the prime minister,'' Miya said, she paused when Naruto also came to sit beside her on the bed. After he'd settled down, she continued. ''However, this should not deter you from doing your job as a general. The Empire has the people to deal with such things. Your job is to protect the Kingdom.''

Naruto nodded, placed both his hands on his lap and leaned down, ''How are we doing?''

''Well,'' Miya responded. ''Our resources are still sharp and the last of our enemies have surrendered. We can prepare to move on to the north. But I would suggest we stay behind for a week so since we don't know if they might turn their backs on us.''

''If that becomes the case, I will turn their village to dust. I've heard enough of ignorant fools who just don't know when to throw the towel,'' Naruto sighed tiredly. ''I've to finish my report and send it back to the Capital.''

Miya sighed. ''You know, I can't always be doing your reports every time,'' she said. ''You will have to increase my pay if I'm going to do this one also...''

Naruto looked at the woman for a moment, ''Come on, Miya-chan. Just this once, I will do anything for you: As long as it doesn't include increasing your pay.'' His tone was a bit begging.

Miya shook her head. ''You won't bribe me like last time. I want an increase, or you can give me your own pay. I'm the one who handles your funds anyway.''

She did everything for him. Seriously, Naruto was used to having people do some things for him that he couldn't quite live by himself. He couldn't even cook his own meals. Esdeath and his previous assistant were the ones who used to feed him good food before she came.

''I blame the previous Emperor,'' Naruto responded with a shrug.

Sighing Miya spoke. ''I will do the report, but you'll do something for me in return...''

''Anything for you...'' Naruto responded with a wide smile on his face. ''How about I pay you now?'' His hands were already sneaking towards her chest.

Miya hit both them. ''No touching,'' she said standing up. ''I will go and do the report and don't think anything going west because it is never going to happen.'' she walked away from the tent.

Naruto sighed, a blank expression settled on his face. ''Aha, I just got rejected, again.'' He then stood up and walked towards his desk.

**A few moments later**

''General Black,'' a voice called standing outside the entrance of his large tent. His army was currently stationed in the western regions to deal with some insolence caused by rebellious fools.

Naruto didn't respond in words, he merely walked towards the entrance, leaving his small desk. Outside, he found one of his men standing outside. Despite being of young age, his men respected him very much. This is proved when the man, despite being twice his age, bowed a little when he addressed him.

''I've received word from General Esdeath. She sent word that all Generals were to head back to the Capital,'' the man stated in a respectful tone.

At hearing those words, a frown quickly rushed to glow on his expression. He didn't want to return to the Capital. There were people that made his blood boil and the only thing that has kept him from wrecking the palace to turn those two people to ash was Esdeath. She always managed to stop him before steam leaked out of his ears because of the heat inside of him.

The person he really hated the most, no, it was not a human, it was a thing: The prime minister. He really hated that demon. He couldn't even stand that thing's mere presence without thinking of snapping its neck and be over with it. Its very breath made his skin crawl and mind to lose the ability to think rationally.

He preferred being out here where he could work well in removing all enemies of the kingdom. ''Send a message to General Esdeath and tell her that I'll pass. She can always fill me in when she returns from the capital.''

He was going to join her army in a week or two in the northern regions, so there was no need for him to waste his time returning to that place. He would do anything to make sure that the breath of that thing didn't taint the air he breathed.

''There is a second message; General Esdeath said she would be arriving at our camp in a day to fetch you.''

Naruto's frown deepened to new levels. Thoughts hit the insides of his head, bouncing off his skull one by one, he couldn't make of what would be happening when he reached there. That woman was going to drag him down the capital if she had to.

He sighed tiredly. ''This is going to be bothersome and its going to drain me mentally,'' the spoke in a mumble, the frown still place on his face.

''Should I get Miya-san to prepare the drinks?'' the man queried. Everyone who was in the army, regardless of which region they were stationed, they all knew of Naruto's dislike of the prime minister. And within his own men, they knew that he disliked going back to the capital because of the mental strength he would need to have so that he can hold himself from attacking the ''piece of meat,'' as he called the prime minister.

Being one of the trusted officers within the army, he knew for certain that there were special drinks that Naruto always carried with him when he went to the capital. The drinks weren't sold in the capital, they found them in one of the small villages they'd come across. Miya, his trusted and cherished assistant, was a keeper of those drinks and only brought them out when it was necessary.

Naruto shook his head. ''I still have a few bottles from the last time I went back to the capital.'' He sighed again. ''I wish I could fake a serious sickness right about now.''

''That wouldn't work,'' Heisuke responded shaking his head. ''Don't you remember that last time General Esdeath dragged you to the capital even when you were sick for real?''

''That cold-hearted woman,'' Naruto mumbled again. ''Sometimes I hate that I know her. Maybe I should break my friendship with her. This would make life a bit easy and reduce the headaches.''

The devil then chose to appear at that moment. ''I'm wounded that you'd wish to break our friendship,'' Esdeath said walking straight towards him.

Naruto snorted in response, 'Yeh right,' he thought. ''Why did you come here now? I've just received your message.'' He asked going back inside his tent, and the woman followed him. Since there was only one chair, he went for the bed. If you were thinking that Esdeath would choose the chair behind his small desk, you'd be surprised. The woman sat beside him on the edge of his bed.

''I sent that message while I was only minutes away from here. I wanted to see if you'd try to run knowing that I was going to come,'' Esdeath responded, looking around the tent. Nothing interested her and she turned to face the blond beside her.

''I have a feeling that you wanted me to run just so you can run after me and drag me to the capital,'' Naruto said before throwing his back on the bed. There was no escape now. ''When do we set out?''

''Once you prepare yourself,'' Esdeath responded calmly. ''There hasn't been major battles occurring in the past weeks, your army should be fine without you. You pamper them too much; if something does occur, it should be good for them to prove their superiority over their enemies without you.''

What wasn't a secret was that Naruto didn't risk the lives of his men under his charge. Whether the opponent was strong or weak, he always charged in first. Even if the enemy was an army, he would first burn some skulls before allowing them to charge at their enemies. But every now and then, he does allow them to show their power.

''That is no different from what you do,'' Naruto responded in casual tone. ''You always like to take on the strongest just to cut them down them down and watch them beg for mercy under your heels. My reason for weeding out the danger first is that my men should have a safe passage.''

''The end result is the same,'' Esdeath argued making Naruto shake his head.

He got up from his bed and went on to pack the essentials. ''That may be so, but the reasoning behind the action is always important. You can't understand the whole picture without understanding the reason behind the action,'' Naruto heaved a sigh. ''But I guess it doesn't matter to you. I thought you'd be with Najenda, isn't it that her army is stationed along with hers, for now?''

''She decided against coming here. I guess she didn't want to deal with you.'' Esdeath responded crossing both legs, resting her hands on her lap. She looked at at Naruto carefully. ''Must you always be a bother when we return to the Capital?''

Esdeath knew why Najenda chose to ignore Naruto while he was away from the capital. When he was inside the capital, he was always his true self and never wore a goofy grin on his face. He was always serious, especially when they were inside the Emperor's palace.

''I hate that thing; it sickens me. I can't even enjoy the finest food in the capital because that thing still breathes,'' his tone had become a little dark when he spoke.

Esdeath sighed, ''If you continue thinking like that, you will have a lot of enemies, and I may just be on top of that list. Let things be as they are and just do your job as a general of the kingdom.''

''That is easy for you to say, Esdeath. Unlike you, I have a heart and don't like to watch when things continue to be bad. I like the good side to win,'' Naruto responded as he zipped his small backpack. He'd packed all the essentials that he needed.

Esdeath snorted before laughing. ''You have a heart?'' she sounded bewildered by the thought of Naruto having a heart. No, in her eyes, he was no different from her. Despite how he acted in front of a few selected people, he was no different from her. She'd seen him fight many times to make that conclusion.

Naruto turned to face the woman, a brow quirked, ''Does it really amuse you that much that I say I have a heart?'' Esdeath nodded in response. ''Aha, you've ruined my day.''

''Just hurry up so we can be on our way; I want to get it over with and return to the men I left,'' Esdeath stated, a bit demanding as she did.

Naruto then walked towards his desk and wrote a few things. ''Miya will know what to do once she read this,'' he said to himself before turning to face Esdeath. ''How about we have some fun first?'' he said slyly with a grin slipping into his face. His eyes were also fixed on Esdeath's chest. A few unconscious steps were taken towards the woman, but he was stopped when something sharp pressed against the valuables.

''Do you really wish to be used to test my new torture technique?''

Naruto looked at the thin blade that was very close to biting the valuables and smiled nervously. He held out both his hands in a symbol of surrendering, ''Well, if that is the price I've to pay, then it can't be helped...'' it became cold around his waist. Naruto sighed disappointedly. ''What a stingy woman.''

''Notify your men of your departure so we can leave,'' Esdeath stated impatiently, retrieving her blade. As a general, He had to inform his men of his departure before setting forth to the capital. It would only cause unnecessary panic if a general just disappears from the camp.

''Hai, hai,'' Naruto responded with a small salute. He'd already written for Miya, once she read it, everything would be alright. ''Heisuke already knows that I'm leaving, so it won't be a problem. But do I really have to go there?''

Esdeath didn't respond, she merely stood up and dragged him out of the tent by his collar. She took him to the horse before speaking. ''Get on so we can leave!'' that was by no means a request; it was an order that had to be followed or there would pain that followed.

Naruto groaned as they began to ride their horses out of the camp. ''What is so important about this meeting anyway?''

''It has been more than a year now since the previous Emperor died,'' Esdeath reminded the blond.

''That filthy pig probably had him killed when he was lying in a hospital bed to gain more power,'' Naruto responded with a growl. He suspected that was the case. But there was nothing he could do about it. Esdeath would probably say that he was killed because he was weak. ''Isn't that there has been a power struggle in the royal family that has left the throne without anyone?''

Esdeath nodded. ''There was, but the new Emperor was named. He is not what you would expect, but that is not what is important. We were called back so that we can be introduced to the new Emperor.''

Naruto sighed, ''This is going to become troublesome.''

As the two continued towards the capital of the Empire, silence then settled. Esdeath didn't like it, especially when she could see that Naruto seemed to be swallowed in his thoughts.

''Must you always be absorbed into your thoughts?'' Esdeath asked as she rode along with Naruto towards the capital of the Empire.

Naruto shook his head slightly. ''I've always liked to think more often. If you remember quite well, we only got along well because she shared the same goal of crushing the enemies of the Empire. At first, the only thing we talked about was our victories, and nothing else. I was always quite back then. It was only after time that things became a bit personal when I realized that there was more to you than meets the eye.''

Esdeath could remember those days her partnership with Naruto was feared greatly. Those days, she liked his presence more than she does now. ''Speak your mind then.''

Naruto didn't need any second invitation to speak. ''From my youngest age, when I could do anything myself, I was taught to handle, to fight for what was right and protecting the Empire. My training was brutal, and all the important principles were drilled within my head. Until I was ready, I was sent forth to join the army, even at a young age.

Budo thought it was best I join the army so I that I could gain some experience quickly. That foolish old man forced me out of the capital to join the battlefield. Esdeath, while I was in the army, you busy enjoying your life in the mountains slaying danger beasts. Even at a young age, I was truly respected for my sword play. I had been taught by the finest within the capital after all.

In all my years fighting for the Kingdom, my sanity has been called to question so many times. There are nights were I felt as though the cold grip of despair was pulling me into the doors of insanity. No matter how trained you were, actual experience in the battlefield was something that you could never be prepared for.'' Naruto started speaking as he and Esdeath made their way towards the capital. It would be a long journey, but they were prepared.

''Where is this going?'' Esdeath asked. She already knew about his upbringing and how he came to join the army. Naruto too knew her story, but it wasn't something they always brought. The blond must have something of importance to inform her.

''Will you simply listen?''

''Fine,'' Esdeath responded. ''There is still a long way towards the capital. As long as you don't bore me, I'll listen.''

Naruto nodded. ''I'm different from you Esdeath; I do not simply trample on the weak for my own amusement. I'm guided by what is right and wrong. Throughout my military career, I've always sought to do what was right. My mind was a little one-side tracked, as I was taught to fight for the Empire from a young age.

Despite all these, what I've seen so far, what the Empire has become since the previous Emperor died and Honest took charge as prime minister. Vile and evil things lurk in clear day light within the Emperor's palace. There is no safe place for the weak civilians who have no power to fight for themselves. The weak are robbed of the little they have and forced into crime; crime that gets them killed.''

''The Fittest survive in this world...'' Before Esdeath could continue, Naruto interrupted her before she could give him the same speech he'd heard so many times.

''My job as a soldier is to protect the Empire, the people of the Empire from anything that seeks to do harm. The weak civilians happen to be part of the Empire that I was trained to protect. You can still call yourself a soldier of the Empire, but you can't define what really the Empire is.

I've burned many people to ashes, and may have sung so many songs of death about me. For the sake of the Empire, I've never hesitated to call upon the flames of purgatory and bath a village under the heat of the flames. Yes, I've been willing to obliterate anything that threatens the peace of the Empire.

Yes, that has been my goal, my principle; exterminating anything that threatens the peace of the Empire. This is where I started to question myself; what if it was the Emperor who was threatening the peace of the Empire? Since that piece of meat crawled out of the pits of hell and grasped the position of Prime Minister, nothing but unbearable corruption has left that things mind. Its tainting breath has painted the once pure palace with bloody images.

After much thinking, I realized something; It doesn't matter either be the Prime Minister, Budo or you, or the Emperor himself. As long as I felt that the Empire was threatened, regardless of who was threatening its peace, my fist option was to send the soul into the depths of the 9th hell where the eternal flames would feed on their flesh until there was nothing left.''

He had sworn in front of his army that he would fight for the people, and he would always seek to do what was right. Perhaps at that time, he didn't know the true meaning of the words he spoke. It could be the case, now he finally understood those words he'd said.

''Is this why you loath the very presence of the prime minister? Is this why you can't stand him? Is this why these thoughts of rebellion have been corrupting you?'' Esdeath questioned, in a icy tone that complemented her element of manipulation perfectly. Her eyes were narrowed the blond-haired General on her right.

''Yes,'' Naruto responded with a sad smile on his face. At this moment, he realized this would make him lose some precious friends.

Esdeath shook her head. ''My advice to you is that you leave things as they are. Let the weak perish. You are a good friend of mine, I don't want this foolishness that has been corrupting you to put us at odds.''

Naruto chuckled dryly, ''Foolishness, huh?''

Esdeath gave a firm nod. ''Showing compassion for the weak will only make you weak. I would be a disappointment if someone as strong as you became weak because of this foolishness.''

What Esdeath had taken notice of was that he has become soft over the past year. He no longer crushed the enemies under one swing, he no longer carried that cold smile that touched her heart with a soft kiss and sang sweet melodies to her soul; a look that only made her feel the need to lunge at him and decorate his body with bloody ice spikes. Sometimes the urge was so strong that she felt like one of these days, she wouldn't be able to control herself.

''Have I become weak? No, I still purge any insolence against the Empire with all my might. Perhaps what has happened is that my eyes have been opened,'' Naruto responded in a tone that was a mask of his previous mirth.

Insolence against the Empire wasn't something he tolerated. He dealt with the enemies without mercy or compassion. The righteous fury of purgatory didn't carry mercy on its back. There only thing the pure flames of his blade knew to do was to purge and consume the flesh of foolish humans who dared threaten the peace of the Empire.

''What has happened to you, Naruto? I was right, Najenda is a bad influence on you,'' Esdeath actually believed that the purpled haired General was a bad influence him. Perhaps it was because Najenda wasn't as cold-hearted as she was. Certainly, before Najenda came into the picture, Naruto was like her in many more ways. However, he was now drifting away from her.

Naruto laughed dryly at her statement. ''A cold hearted sadist and a nice person, who is the one to be a bad influence?'' The question was rhetorical. ''I sense that great evil will come upon the Empire and threaten its stability if things continue as they are.''

With how Honest was running things, the peace within the capital was reaching its expiry date. That thing had a smell that attracted all sorts of evil, and the evil that followed the shadow of that man unsettled him. A thief always comes by at night to steal, but the pseudo-human of a prime minister was a vampire that walked in daylight. Yes, that thing tainted the capital day and night, even in its sleep.

''If that is so, then your flames and my ice will smite this evil and stand high above it. We will feast in its pain and glorify the Empire by stripping it of all its pride and make it bark like a dog!'' Esdeath balled her right fist as the horse she rode continued to match on towards the not so far away destination.

A sad smile plastered across Naruto's front, ''I hope what awaits us at the capital isn't anything of what I dread.''

T**wo days later**

''What a waste of my time!'' Naruto groaned sipping the burning sensation of alcohol. He'd attended the damn meeting he'd been called to attend. Other than swearing loyalty to the new child-emperor by other generals, he had to listen to that piece of meat gloat about this and that.

His heart shivered when that devilish tongue of that thing clicked word after word. The filthy piece of red meat was always dancing at that thing hands. It was disgusting and disturbing, it gave him day freaking dreams when that things fangs tore apart that meat it held and its large mouth sucked the poor meat uncooked meat into its large pit for a gut.

He wouldn't be surprised it that things inside was nothing but a deep hole with burning acid that cooked whatever its large mouth swallowed.

He had nearly turned blind when that thing locked eyes with him. He could see nothing but bloody dances and screams of agony in those demonic eyes. The scent of corruption that oozed out of its body felt like the loud smell of a cheap perfume. He felt violated just by looking into those eyes. Certainly, his intestines had shrunk in disgust when his brain recorded the images that thing gave him.

The thing that had made the eternal flames of the 9th hell dance within the throne room was when that thing lips spread out wide into a demented, twisted, bloody and disgusting smile that just sucked the happiness out of his soul. He had been close to losing all sense of rationality in favor of smiting that thing from his presence.

Consequences be damned! He would joyfully run into the chambers of hell if the chance to burn that thing to crisp was offered to him. The existence of that thing defied everything he stood for. There was no right in that demon. It was an abomination even for a demon. How it escaped the shackles of hell and found its way to this peace world of humanity was a mystery to him.

''I thought I'd find you here,'' a voice dragged Naruto out of his disturbingly sweet thoughts. He turned around from his stool and saw the ever Najenda beautiful walking up to him. He allowed the general to sit down before he responded.

''Well, this is the only place I come to purify my insides after breathing the same air as that thing,'' Naruto responded calmly. He'd had a few drinks already, but he wasn't going to be drunk any time soon. He could enjoy the burning sensation on his throat for some time before finally calling it quits.

He could never think of getting drunk while inside the capital. Esdeath would no doubt punish him if she found out he was drunk. What he dreaded was that thing called Honest taking advantage of the shaky state he would be in after getting drunk. The feeling of loathing was mutual on both sides; neither has been subtle of their mutual dislike.

Najenda sighed. ''Then, what do you think of this current situation?''

She would rather no indulge Naruto on his hellish thoughts of the Prime Minister because she knew if she did so, he would only become fixated on killing him without thinking properly. It was certainly a puzzle to her how the calm and sharp minded general like Naruto could lose his sense of rationally and physical become unstable when the prime minister directly looked at him.

The situation that had been given birth to by the actions of that man was worrying her. That was important enough for her to dismiss other matters and speak to Naruto about it. It was a good time to speak to him after he'd been in the presence of Honest. He could talk like a General now instead of his other self.

''The evil and corruption in this Empire will only grow bold as time moves forward. I've seen the despicable vultures that lurk in the shadows, and it disturbs me. The Empire is already at the edge of a cliff, and after a few pushes from Honest, it will be a free fall; this corruption that is done in the shadows will be done in clearly day light.''

Honest was the mother of all forms of evil. Yes, he was the demon mother Eve. Once the evil locked its behind within the depths of the palace, it would surely taint everything pure with its corruption and ugliness. The palace walls already smelled like pieces of rotten meat, hence he couldn't say long in that place without getting sick.

How Budo could allow such vermin to breath freely inside the palace was a mystery to him.

Najenda nodded. ''What will you do if it becomes like that?'' Curiosity dripped from her tone and her ears functionality became at 100 percent as she eagerly waited for his response.

Naruto chuckled dryly. ''I'm already at odds with my commander. Even he, I can't stand. I've never had a relationship with Honest. I'd feel violated and defiled if I had a relationship with that thing to begin with. I don't need to explain to what will happen unless Esdeath or Budo pulls some strings.''

''Or she could pounce on to the chance of fighting you. You've never accepted her requests for a friendly spar, and even if she does force it, you never fight her seriously,'' Najenda threw in another possibility.

''That is a possibility. She wouldn't mind to beat the foolishness out of me,'' Naruto stated before shifted his stool far closer to Najenda's. ''So, Naje-chan, why have you been ignoring me these past weeks?'' A complete flip of personality. It always amazed Najenda how he could switch between emotions like that.

''Don't touch me,'' Najenda warned in a sharp tone. She could see Naruto's right hand creeping behind her. The destination was obviously her right breast. He always favored the right.

Naruto gave Najenda some puppy eyes and begged. ''Please, Naje-chan? Esdeath nearly cut my fingers last time my right hand was called by her breasts. Don't be stingy like her, Naje-chan.''

''Don't touch me, or I will drag you into Esdeath's torture cell.''

''Ah,'' Naruto retreated. 'Just thinking of what that woman would do to me gives me the sudden desire to apologize.''

The woman shrugged, ''it gets you to behave, I see no problem. Why do you act like this anyway?''

''I never had any fun when I was growing up. Each day I woke up, I was forced into training, and studying. When I became capable, I was sent into the army by Budo. I never had any friends, no playing time whatsoever. I've been fighting since I was little. I've seen and done so many things that I don't enjoy. There are often times when all these gets to me and my mental barriers struggle to hold.'' Naruto responded hHonestly seeing no reason to fabricate something. ''There are times that I feel like I'm standing in between the line of sanity and insanity. I fear that if I don't do it, I may end up like Esdeath, or even worse.''

Najenda nodded. ''Isn't there a way to deal with the stress? Perhaps you can some time off the battlefield and rest. Your thoughts about the prime minister don't help matters either.''

Naruto shook his head. ''I can't leave the battlefield when I know Honest still breathes.'' He said. ''Perhaps Miya will find a better solution for me.''

''You put a lot of trust in that woman...'' Najenda commented with a narrowed look.

Naruto smiled in return. ''What can I say? She fills me with that I miss the most...are you jealous?''

Najenda snorted before standing up. ''Hardly,'' she said. ''Don't stay up too late; I will be sad you suddenly end up dead.''

Naruto smiled in return. "Don't worry; it will take Esdeath and her army to put me down."

**The following day**

''General Black, the prime minister has summoned you,'' A messenger of the Imperial Palace reported once he got close to him. Naruto was minding his own business taking a stroll around the capital, away from the place where that vermin resided.

Those simple words were enough to suck the life out of him. The only thing that would visit the prime would be a husk on his true self. He really did not wish to be in the presence of that thing. And it seemed to be likely that the prime minister new that his presence didn't greet his health with a friendly smile. The thing could've just called him on purpose just to see him suffer internally.

The thought reached his blade to the point where it trembled in fury. He could feel Amaterasu crying from her sheath, seeking him to release her so that she could smite the vermin that dares make his blood boil. His other blade was more reasonable, and worked overtime to calm both of them down. Without his secondary blade singling sweet melodies to both him and Amaterasu, the flames of the 9th hell would've been joyfully dancing beside him.

And surely, they would match straight into the palace.

If that were to happen, Budo would be crawling at him in all his fury. The man hated anyone who tried to put the palace in danger. He didn't care who it was. However, this knowledge made Naruto curse the man because even though he dislikes those put the palace in danger, that vermin called Honest was busy spraying it with blood and what was he doing about it?

''Now?'' Naruto asked in a low growl, his eyes flickering pure black for a moment. He didn't notice that he dark aura had surrounded him all of the sudden. People were even walking away from him.

The messenger took a few steps back, sweating. ''Y-yes.'' He responded. It was one of those times when he hated being a messenger. Some people were not even afraid of killing them because they didn't carry the good news.

''Fine then,'' Naruto changed directions, turning to his left. The streets were empty, he didn't mind.

He was probably going to be leaking killing intent until he finally leaves the capital with Esdeath later on today. He wondered what that man wanted though; could it be just to gloat about his victory over his enemies? Could it just be that he just wanted to give him crappy orders and have him exterminate some insolence against the empire? What bothered him the most was that the man was insolence itself.

Naruto finally pushed himself into the den of the demon. He watched it carefully as its fangs bounced off the red meat again and again. Its very breath was enough to kill any fly that dared to feed on its red meat.

His insides cringed, and the flames from purgatory started to dance around his knees. Yet, none of the guards that were hiding in the shadows made their appearance should he start doing anything.

HHonest looked at Naruto with a narrowed eyes. He continued chewing his meat like Naruto wasn't there. It was always amusing for him to watch Naruto struggle to contain himself. He liked to see the blond explode in anger, and try to kill him. Inside this capital, he always had dogs watching over him so he wasn't worried the least.

''Should I cook that rotten meat for you?'' The tone was a low growl, with barely contained righteous fury.

''I like my meat red. You can only paint it black and I'm afraid if it touches your flames, it will lose its taste,'' Honest responded calmly, continuing to chew his meat as though Naruto wasn't emitting an aura that would make a full grown soldier shit his pants.

This attitude bugged him to no end, and pressed all the wrong buttons inside of him. This thing could act so calmly like he wasn't even a threat. It even called him here because it knew if he attempted something, he wouldn't leave this place with his life. All the generals were back in the capital and surely, they would kill him.

But that wouldn't be so bad. He wouldn't die without knowing that this thing was dead. If the price for killing this vermin was death, he would accept it. But for now, it was no needed to act rashly.

''Then, what do you want?'' The very question itself made his body tremble as bubbles burst inside of his body.

''You are to temporarily leave your duties as General and return to the capital. When you return to your army, you will hand your second in command control 1/3 of the army and hand the rest to Esdeath.'' That was clearly an order.

What disturbed Naruto the most was the HHonest wasn't even looking at him, his attention was on his food. Naruto entertained the thought of killing the vermin now and be over with it. ''If I refuse?'' He was already holding the hilt of his black blade. A smoke of black flames was leaking the tip of his blade in preparation to smite the vermin should the master decide to get on with it.

''Would you refuse an order from the Emperor?'' HHonest questioned a bit casually for Naruto's liking.

Naruto released a low growl before turning around to leave. It was best for his health that he removed himself from the presence of the vermin before he did anything drastically.

The blade didn't leave his right grip, he matched on with it.

''You're expected to be back at the capital in a week.'' HHonest didn't even have to utter a threat for Naruto to know that he would pay if he didn't listen to his orders.

As Naruto opened the door to leave, he found the spawn of a demon. It smiled at him, but he wasn't in the mood. Besides, this thing that was in front of him was just bad as the thing that cooked it. ''Yo, Black,'' Syura, the son of the Prime Minister greeted, a bit cheerfully looking straight at Naruto.

''Get out my way,'' Naruto's eyes flashed pure black for a moment before he pushed past another spawn that crawled into the earth from the pits of hell.

Syura looked at his father and asked, ''What's up with him lately? He's been moody of late...''

Honest merely shrugged, a bit carelessly, in response. ''Who knows?'' he smiled at a thought. ''He is rather angry when he is angry though,'' HHonest admitted wiping a sweat across his forehead. After that, he took a few gulps of red wine to calm his nerves.

The way HHonest was drinking the wine was worrying his son, ''are you okay old man?''

Honest nodded. ''I must do something about that sword of his. It is a rather impressive tool and it isn't even a Teigu. But it will be a problem as far as I know, when the previous Emperor found him, he was holding it and never lets it out of his sight.''

He had already disarmed the blond of his Teigu, and should he disarm him of that blade, he would be a toothless dog. Yes, he would cook something. The blond was a threat to his reign, and he knew well enough that only Budo and Esdeath could stand up to him. If he allowed things to continue like this, his life would be in danger.

Bringing the blond here and having Budo leave was a good option. If Naruto was close to him, he wouldn't need to do much to get him to do something stupid that even Budo won't be able to help him out.

Honest looked at his son again and spoke. ''I'll have you do something important for me, very soon. Be ready so that you don't fail me.''

**Later that day**

Naruto left the capital of the Empire with Esdeath in the same way they came. However, since the woman was going to be in charge of 2/3 of his army, they would return to where his army was camping so that he could hand her the men he commands.

Naruto was being too quiet for Esdeath's liking as they rode their way towards his army. ''Are you going to ignore me till you reach our destination?''

Her tone was a bit stern, just showing Naruto that she wasn't content with the silent treatment. Even though he wasn't ignoring her, he was still being too quite, and she never advised him to do such when he was with her. She always told him to speak his mind. However, what has been coming out of his mouth has been foolishness recently and it bothered her.

''No, I just have a lot in my mind. It is quite hard to process everything with the heavy load I'm facing,'' Naruto responded in a light tone that was nothing compared to the tone he was using when he was at the Imperial Palace.

There was just a lot for him to deal with. Honest hadn't even bothered to inform him why he was being recalled back to the capital. It would have been good for him to know why he was being recalled so that he can prepare for whatever task he has to face. Perhaps that thing didn't tell him just so he could be tormented by the thoughts of the possible task it was going to have him do.

Another of his concern was for his army. Joining with General's Esdeath army meant that they were going to be on the same league as them; whatever that they were going to be doing, they would also do. Yes, his men were going to be tainted with sadism. He had worked with Esdeath long enough to know that her sadism was passed down to her army and there was no such thing as innocents to the woman.

He had taught morality to his men, and now, Esdeath was going to re-educate them. That was just dreadful.

''If you have something to say, say it. It better be not one of those foolish talks, they are beginning to bore me,'' her distaste of his ''foolish'' talks was clearly evident in her tone.

''You get well with the Prime Minister, what do you think he has recalled me for?'' It was no secret to him that Esdeath got well with that meat. The woman didn't care for what the man did or how evil he was, as long as he allowed her to do as she pleased, she had no problems with him. And this worked well for Honest as he had a powerful ''ally'' who will do anything he asks without a question.

They would probably get well if they just married... the kind of dread the two would cause if they continued to work together frightened Naruto. He wished such a reality never came to play while he was still breathing.

''Didn't he tell you?'' Esdeath seemed surprised, and then she shook her head. ''No, you just left before he could explain everything to you and knowing than man, he didn't bother to stop you.''

She knew well enough of the relationship between Naruto and Honest to know that both wouldn't smile in the same room. It was always Honest who was always smiling while Naruto seethed. Unless forced, she normally had to explain things to Naruto because while in the presence of the prime minister, he gets swallowed up by his thoughts to pay attention to anything being said.

''It may have happened like that,'' Naruto responded calmly, not bothering to deny anything. There was a possibility that he may not have been told anything, simply because Honest had not made such plans. ''Then, why am I being forced to leave my army?''

''You are the next in line to take over from Budo in protecting the palace; this is what you were trained for, after all. This means that if Budo is unavailable to fill out his duties, you have to do it,'' Esdeath responded calmly.

Naruto sighed, ''Where is Budo anyway?''

''He returned to the field again to deal with some rebels in the East. The Prime minister saw it best for Budo to leave just to exhibit the Empires power. Some rebels had forgotten that Budo was still alive because he's been spending much time in the Capital,'' and there was the fact that both just couldn't work together.

''That man likes to flaunt power like a magic ward. I guess it is good for Budo to go out there. His presence should be enough to quench the insolence of rebels. I've been getting rather tired of dealing with the foolishness of some villages.''

Perhaps someone like Esdeath would only complain that she was not given a hard job by her opponents. As long as she was able to inflict gruesome pain to her enemies, the woman had no worries. Sadism didn't give him happiness and ending human lives didn't fill him with bliss.

Yes, he terminated insolence against the Empire with burning fury and Amaterasu's flames seem to feed off the sweet melody of agony they are offered when they start eating the flesh of humans. But he didn't enjoy it at all.

Esdeath nodded in agreement. ''I don't know what you are so worried about since Budo won't spend much time away from the capital. He will be gone for three months at most, then you can return to the field.''

''I'm worried about my sanity. I can't stand the prime minister's presence even just for a minute without leaking killing intent and thinking horrifying images of that man's corpse. If I spend a month in that place thinking such thoughts every day, I may end up losing my mind and flip. I'll probably go on a rampage if that happens,'' Naruto explained in a bit light tone, but this was worrying very much.

''I told you not to think too much about what the prime minister does. If you do, you are just going to end up in trouble, and I don't want to bail you out again,'' Esdeath responded, her tone growing serious with each word passing though her lips.

''How many times must I tell you that the vermin framed me for that matter? I hadn't done anything wrong,'' It still infuriated him that Honest was able to frame him for crimes that were non-existent. No, they were there, just not committed by him.

''I know, but it wouldn't have happened, if you'd just kept your mouth shut and did as I did.'' The seriousness in her tone became a bit sharp in the end.

Naruto shook his head, that wasn't going to happen unless he lost his sanity. ''At this time, if I don't manage things perfectly, since I'm going to be breathing the same air as that thing on a daily basis, I may truly flip and end up being just like you.''

If that happened, he could only guess what sort of horrors he would bring to the world and anyone who rebelled against the Empire, threatening its peace. There were already too many things that troubled him greatly, and his mental barriers were barely holding up.

''It wouldn't be so bad if you became like me,'' Esdeath adopted a happy smile. ''We would have more fun with our enemies, just the two of us. We could share our preys and inflict pain together, and even share torture techniques,'' such a reality would sooth her soul to no end. She would like for such things to occur, no, she prayed that it became a reality.

Naruto chuckled dryly; he could only expect Esdeath to say something like that. ''It is okay to dream, Esdeath-chan.''

''It wouldn't be so bad, I mean, we could be called ''Black's Death'' again. I really miss those days when you had no troubles working with me. We had a lot of fun those days, and we were a lot alike,'' a fond smiled spread across her face as the memories of the glorious, and joyful times she had with Naruto.

The time they were given that name, they were working together, leading an army together. Their pairing had brought many proud men to their knees and brought her much ecstasy. During those days, Naruto was only focused on removing the enemies of the Empire. Yes, he was cold-hearted during those days. Many even questioned whether he was human or not. Esdeath had watched, standing with a cold look on his face as the black flames of his blade blissfully burned down a village behind him.

Those days, his eyes were often pure black...

But ever since Honest became Prime Minister, he changed, questioning himself on who the enemy was. She tried to show him the right way, but he wasn't listening to her. The fact that his already strained relationship with Budo reached new levels when he discovered the ''evil'' the prime minister was doing within the palace didn't help matters.

''I was blind those days,'' Naruto responded, a bit distastefully. Esdeath would disagree to that. These present days, he was speaking foolishness in her view point. Naruto still wondered how they got along when their views had now become very different.

''I disagree,'' true to Naruto's thoughts, she disagreed. ''You were a true soldier of the Empire those days; you didn't question orders, you merely carried them out. You were also my good friend, but now you are becoming this stranger I fail to understand.''

A hint of sadness that reminded him that Esdeath still had a hidden heart.

**Three days later**

''We are men; we are soldiers of the Empire. We are not tools of the Empire; tools are inhuman things used to accomplish certain goals and discarded when they are of no use. We are humans who fight for the Empire; tools are the swords and spears we use. We are the soldiers baptized in the flames of purgatory, our swords and spears are used to smite the insolence against the Empire. We will not run away from the enemy; enemies we crush with all our might.

''The enemy seeks to disrupt our peace, but we will not permit them; we will crush them, we will be victorious against any form of enemy, whether human, danger beasts, demons and even angels shall not stand in our path. We are the Soldiers of destruction to the enemy, and soldiers of protection to our people.

Any evil that attempts to disrupt the peace of the Empires people shall be sent to purgatory. We will not show mercy to demons; we will send them to hell. We will not allow trash to trample on the Empire's people. Our hope, our goal, our dream, yes, we live to protect the Empire people's!''

A fitting speech Naruto gave to his army each time they weren't on a battle with the enemy. For so long, Miya watched him fight many enemies to protect the Empire and its people. He refused to allow humans to see themselves as merely tools to be used when they are needed and disposed of when they are of no use, no, his men were soldiers who fought against any insolence against the Empire.

Perhaps the fact that he refused to see his men as tools was the aspect that drew her closer to him.

So many days, weeks, months and years that he'd been fighting, fighting and Miya realized that he'd even forgot what he was fighting for, what he'd promised them he would fight for. Although she didn't say anything, but she knew that his vision had been become one-sided, he grown so much deep into destroying ''insolence'' against the Empire that he forgot who he was. Despite all these, she stayed behind him, hoping that he would eventually realize the truth.

She'd known him ever since he was younger. Aside from Akane, she was the only one who truly knew him. A pity Akane was tragically killed.

Miya looked at Naruto, his eyes flickering behind them. She smiled at the thought that he was really going to miss his men. He'd been with a few of them since he was just a captain, leading a small platoon of men to victory wherever they went, whoever they faced in whatever situation.

Naruto looked back at the camps; he was going to miss his army. He could remember well the speech he gave them when he was just a Corporal.

''I am a soldier of the Empire. My will is to protect the people of the Empire against any kind of evil, any wrenched soul that seeks to destroy their peace. My flames shall be justice unto any fool that dares threaten the Empire. My loyalty is not sworn to the King, or the Prime Minister, but to the Empire, the People of the Empire and I will destroy anyone, and I mean anyone who makes them suffer!''

His message was clear was back then. Yes, he'd sworn that if it was the Emperor who threatened the peace of the people, his flames would eat his flesh and drag his bones into the pit within the depths of hell. That ideal was his life, yet he'd forgotten it along the way. But his men never forgot, they always stayed beside him no matter what.

A visit back to the Capital and opened his eyes. Yes, the old King was still alive at that time, but barely. Death was merely taunting them, dancing around his hospital bed; sometimes it would drag him towards its house, sometimes it would push him slightly away from it. At that time, that demon called Honest was already rising, and managed to force his way to become Prime Minister.

With the King dying, unable to take decisions, the Royal family put into a power struggle, the demon took the Empire into its hands and did what it pleased. Despite all his involvement with the Royal family, he couldn't do anything. One by one they started to drop dead.

The people of the Empire started to suffer under Honest, enemies grew bold. And he was forced to crush the enemies temporarily forgetting about Honest. The struggle within the Royal Family turned him cold when dealing with enemies. Yes, the questions still lingered; was he human?

When he finally returned to sort the problem, the demon happily welcomed him. However, its very breath and presence pressed all the wrong buttons. He'd nearly cut off its head just because his blade could feel that its aura didn't belong to humans. The evil aura tainted the walls of the palace with madness that nearly drove him insane.

At that time, he knew he had to kill that thing.

However, Akane, his then assistant was brutally murdered. His heart already had little emotions and that was the final straw. The flames of hell surrounded his heart creating a defensive wall and he left the capital to return to his army. He couldn't think clearly when that thing was there.

Only the warmth of Miya stopped him from going insane...

Even though he knew that he had to kill that thing, he still couldn't do it. The questions came, who was he loyal to? What was he fighting for? Wouldn't killing the prime minister create a situation that would threaten the peace of the Empire? If so, then wouldn't he be the enemy? If he turned against the prime minister, wasn't that insolence against the Empire?

There were so many questions that he sought to answer...so many questions that brought him closer to his oath. He'd promised the old Emperor that he would fight for the people. If the people were suffering, shouldn't he destroy what which made them suffer?

''Naruto,'' Miya called, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. He looked at the woman beside him and smiled at her. He'd space out again. Miya knew what was going inside his head, but she wasn't going to comment on it. ''Are you sure about this?''

''I have no choice,'' He responded quietly as the two rode their horses back towards the Capital of the Empire.

He really didn't have a choice in all these matters. Honest had spoken, and he had to follow. Sure he loathed that rotten piece of meat, but it had spoken for the king and he had to follow. He didn't have any immediate plan to deal with all the generals of the Empire should he choose to disobey, and his men would also be in trouble. Some were only loyal to him. If so, then if he disobeyed, then they would also disobey. This would put their lives in danger.

For now, he would allow Esdeath to lead a portion of his army. Heisuke could lead the rest of his army. He hadn't done exactly as Honest had told him to do. No, he only gave Esdeath 1/3 of his army and Heisuke 2/3 of it. The rest given to Esdeath would be the ones to go to the north with her, and the remaining would stay in the eastern regions.

One could never know when evil would strike.

''You don't really have to come with me, Miya.'' Naruto said looking ahead at the road. He didn't want her to suffer the same fate as Akane. It was possible that such a fate would seek her out if his thoughts continued to paint bloody images of Honest.

''Don't worry about me,'' Miya responded smiling at him. Though she was happy he was concerned for her, she was more worried about him. Staying within the Capital didn't do well for his health and she wanted to be there to offer her support. ''We have to worry about you first. Who is going to knock some senses into you when you decide to do something stupid?''

''Don't speak like I always do something stupid.''

Miya gave him a look. ''Naruto, need I remind you of the things you've done in the capital since Honest took over as Prime Minister?''

Naruto shook his head. ''Don't,'' he said. ''That thing disturbs me greatly. But I guess it won't hurt having you beside me. I don't know what I'd do without you.'' When he didn't have her close, he always had Najenda and Esdeath. Those two did enough, but neither could match her warmth.

Miya merely smiled. ''You'd be branded a traitor within a week without me and you'd have both Budo and Esdeath to chase after you.''

Naruto sighed. ''That is most likely to be the case,'' he said. ''What should we do before we report for duty?''

''How about we don't go to the palace when we reach the capital? Most people don't know your face since you shy away from the spot light. We can book a hotel and enjoy some free time.''

**The end…of chapter…**

**There are some repetitions, I know. However, I just felt that things were right put in this form. Naruto's serious personality didn't seem to click in with the other "playful" personality; I noticed and will fix that. My grammar sucks, so does my spelling, I know that. If you are willing to help edit my work, you are welcomed.**

**Naruto's blade "Amaterasu" is more the same "my" Naruto in "Awakening" uses. **

**The next update will be a continuation of this prologue, and after which I will see if I can write a good story with this…**

**The Omnipresent Sage… **


	2. Chapter 2

**Zero: Part Two**

…A dream? Perhaps not. Naruto's eyes slowly open, welcoming the light brought out by the new day. Despite his many reservations about returning to the capital, yesterday had been lauds of fun for him. He had much enjoyment in the previous day that he'd never had before in his whole 19 years of living. The thought that it may be a dream first popped up when the memories replayed inside the dream theater in his mind.

Turning to his left on the bed, Naruto smiled. It wasn't a dream. The laughter's he'd shared with Miya were real. If he was stingy with money, he would've been complaining all day yesterday and frowning at this moment, but he wasn't. Miya had torn deep holes in his pockets just so she could make him happy, and he truly had enjoyed his time with her yesterday.

Smiling once more, Naruto moved closer to Miya and brought his right hand about her, he just felt like holding her. She'd shared the same bed with him many times before, but they were always wearing their clothes. The woman was very stingy when it came to putting out. He may have slept in the same bed with her many times, but the woman never gave anything other than a kiss.

There was always an electrical cage between her legs, and it always shocked him each time he attempted to take his hands down there.

Miya smiled when she felt Naruto's hand pull her closer to him. The warmth of his body was refreshing and filled her body with calmness; it acted like a muscle relaxer. She always preferred this warm side of him other than the warrior in him. In this way, he was much more loving, kind and a good person.

She knew though that going to the palace later on would shift his mood, that is why she'd made sure he had much fun yesterday. If something bad happens, he could always look back on their wonderful day of bliss.

For his happiness, Miya was willing to do anything for him. She knew that there were dangers within the capital. She knew Naruto would worry about her since Akane was killed within this place. But she'd come back here because she knew that if she wasn't here, things wouldn't be well for everyone. She could at least manage him and insure that he deals with his stress in a proper manner.

Because of the dangers that knew would eventually arise once Naruto settles, she was going to use every moment she could to make happy memories with him, memories that would be imprinted within his heart. He didn't have those many happy memories since he's been involved with the military his whole life. At least she could the happiness in his life.

''I wish we could stay like this forever,'' Naruto murmured softly as he pulled Miya even closer to him - he didn't want to let her go. He knew that she was already awake.

''It is a wish, but at this day, place and situation, it remain as such,'' Miya responded calmly. She wasn't trying to crush his happy mood. No, she knew he wouldn't be downed by that. Naruto was a big boy after all.

''I know,'' he said. ''I've to say I had much fun yesterday. I just hope that vermin doesn't suck it all away in one glance...''

Today he would see the man he planned to kill one day. That thing would eventually die before him, and he would make sure that its death was painful. It he had to be a sadist to insure that thing suffers before it dies, he would become one. Plans were already in motion, the things he's seen in capital disgusted him. The people he'd vowed to protect were suffering because of that piece of meat.

He'd sworn to protect them, and so he would. Time and right conditions only mattered at this time.

For now, he would continue to hold on until he could find the right allies. But holding on would mean that thing would be sucking out his happiness each time its eyes fall on him. If Miya wasn't going to be there with him, he surely was going to be empty inside because that thing would take everything and there would be no one to refill the wells of happiness inside of him.

''Don't worry, I won't leave you. I am your ''heart'' after all,'' to emphasize this, Miya brought out her hand from the sheets and placed it on top of Naruto's. She wouldn't leave him, no matter what. Even if he decided to run rampant within the capital, she would stand by him.

The only thing that would separate her from him was death and death only.

''I wouldn't allow you to leave me even if you wanted,'' Naruto said smiling. ''Can you believe this, this is the first time I've cuddled with a woman I've slept with,'' he said quietly.

''Why is that? Najenda doesn't seem to be kind to leave while you're still sleeping. It would fit Esdeath perfectly,'' Miya said.

''I haven't slept with either of those women.'' Naruto responded calmly. He could understand why she wouldn't know about that. She wasn't very well in friendly means with Esdeath, and he always kept her away from the Ice Queen each time he went to join her company. Najenda was another story, but by all means they could look like they'd hit it off. It wasn't the case though.

''What? Really?'' Miya was surprised, definitely. ''But after Esdeath joined the army, you were always with her. I mean, that woman cooked for you and you often shared the same tent, especially when you were given orders that concerned both of you.'' The black haired woman stated.

''I may have slept in the same bed with Esdeath back then, but at that time, I wasn't interested in women, neither was Esdeath interested in men. We didn't even have thoughts of experimenting. But if we had those thoughts, we would've.'' It was unbelievable, but it was the truth. Perhaps it was because he was focused on purging the enemies of the Empire and Esdeath was focused on her sadism. He didn't really have a heart back then.

''What about when you became interested in women? I think that is about the time Akane was teaching you how to live as a person other than a soldier...''

''Nothing happened. No kisses, I've not even touched her breasts because she allowed me. She won't let me get that close to her, and since then I made advances, she's never slept in the same room with me.'' Naruto responded. Esdeath was stingy and he disliked her for never allowing him to defile her ''pure'' body.

Miya nodded, ''Well, I shouldn't be surprised, knowing the woman.''' She said. ''So tell me, if you were offered the chance, would you sleep with her?''

''Yes,'' Naruto responded without a second thought, ''or not. I'm not much of a pervert as I act. It would be a lie if I said I've never thought of doing her.''

His response earned him an elbow on his gut from Miya. ''You say no, when a woman you are sleeping with asks you something like that,'' she said sternly. ''What of Najenda then? Don't deny it, I've seen you two kissing, passionately might I add.''

''I won't deny it. But that is all there is to it.'' Naruto said quietly. ''Najenda is a pleasant person, but I never put much effort into sleeping with her and she didn't seem much into sleeping with me. I just fool around with her to ease my mind, and her smile is rather sweet.''

Well, there was one time he woke up next to her, naked, after a drunk night. But Najenda had said nothing happened and he believed. He still didn't have memories of that night. Perhaps it was why Miya and Esdeath always limited his drinking.

''What about mine?''

''Yours is the best, it's unique and there is no one who can replace you or replicate your smile.'' A soft tone was used when he responded. ''And besides, you are my 'heart', when you smile, I smile, when you cry, I cry. To be honest, if I ever see another man touching you, heads would drop down and new puddles of blood would be formed.''

Somehow, Miya didn't doubt that he was being honest. ''I will do the same if I see you touching another woman. As long as I am alive and sleeping with you, you are not permitted to sleep with anyone. If you do, I will cut it, is that understood?''

The woman grabbed exactly she meant to cut rather firmly showing her intent. Naruto was quick to nod. ''Yes, Ma'am!''

''Good,'' Miya said smiling. ''We should prepare ourselves and head to the Palace to deal with everything quickly. If we talk to the Prime Minister soon, we can get away from his face and retreat to your quarters.''

Naruto sighed, ''I guess it can't be helped,'' he said, but still made no attempt to get out of bed, neither did Miya.

**Later that day**

**Naruto's quarters**

Najenda looked at Naruto carefully as he ate his meal. The man looked rather calm while inside his quarters, but of course once he steps outside everything changes. It was just like a flip of a page. This next page you are reading something good, and then you get something. His quarters were quite different from the other places she'd seen already, and all the walls were painted pure white.

The woman thought it was done on purpose just so he could see any stain, he had said that the rest of the palace was tainted by evil and only his quarters weren't since he'd bathed them with Amaterasu's flames.

On the other aside of the small dinner table, was his 'caretaker', Miya. The woman was glowing more than ever. She could only guess something good had happened with Naruto. The only man in her life was Naruto; almost everything she did was for Naruto. What Najenda did know was that she truly cared for his wellbeing more than anyone.

Remarkably, even though she could call herself a friend of Naruto, his caretaker was almost like a stranger to her. She'd never had any lasting conversations with her. She also noticed that it was the same with Esdeath; Miya wasn't familiar with the General. Could it be that she loved Naruto? It was a possibility, when she started to befriend him, the woman was already at his shadow. Najenda was also positive that there was no one else Naruto valued more than Miya.

''What really brought you here, Najenda? I thought you'd be with Liver finishing Esdeath's work in the Western regions since she is now being moved to the Northern regions,'' Naruto started, not even sparring the woman a glance.

It was a question that even Miya was asking. According to the report she read, the woman was supposed to be leading her army towards battle. She was here at the Capital last week, with other Generals, so what could have brought her back?

''There has been a change of orders,'' Najenda started calmly. ''There rebels in some of the villages in the Southern Regions have grown louder and normal soldiers aren't doing enough. I heard they'd sent a Colonel, there, but he was defeated. Naturally, the big guns were sent there.''

Naruto nodded. ''So instead of going to the Northern regions, Esdeath will be going to the South. However, moving to the south for Esdeath will be a risk since she has to move a large army. I'd imagine she will only take a few a leave the rest in the western. That means that Liver won't need you anymore, leaving you free.''

Najenda nodded, appreciating Naruto's ability to analyze things and come to a conclusion. He wasn't just a powerful general, he was had the mind to back his power up. His mind only let him down when he was facing Honest.

''That still doesn't explain everything though. I'm sure you must've had a reason to come here other than that you have some free time,'' Naruto added, this time his eyes locked with the woman's.

''I needed to talk to you, in private.''

Naruto cocked his head a little before smiling. ''The conversation you had with me last week and something I caught you saying to someone, something that could be define as treachery; your thought about a certain vermin and the fact that you are good person leads me to one conclusion; rebellion, no, a revolution is more precise.'' Judging by Najenda's expression, the blond guessed he was spot on. ''I have nothing to say to you, not yet at least.''

Najenda showed surprise. ''Considering that you hate the Prime Minister more than anything, I thought you'd have much to say to me.'' Miya thought the same too. Naruto had told her after all, he told her he would kill Honest and his allies if it meant protecting the people of the Empire from the sufferings Honest was bringing to them.

''I have nothing to say, not yet at least,''' Naruto repeated. ''Meaning, in due time we will talk. I'm still working through possible scenarios of this matter. Contact me about this matter when I return to the battlefield and we will...'' the blond didn't finish speaking; he just trailed off and froze, his body trembling slightly.

Miya was quick to act, ''Are you okay, Naruto?''

The question was answered when Miya heard the voice of the Prime Minister within the quarters, no, so close. He finally reached them. Miya knew it was just blasphemy for this man to enter into this place.

''Ah, it looks like I came at the right time,'' Honest said taking an empty chair around the dinner table. The Prime smiled a bit gleefully when he saw the food put on the table. ''General Najenda, I wasn't expecting you to be back in the capital.''

Of course he already knew that she back, he had his eyes almost everywhere. Still, he couldn't help but feel suspicious about this. Though he knew that Naruto and Najenda got along, he was certain that the woman didn't like him one bits and wasn't the one to be bribed. This of course posed problems with to him. Najenda wasn't much of a problem as Naruto was. The blond had close ties with the previous Emperor and with Budo's family; everyone in the political circle new of this.

If the blond was to rebel, then he could take many with him. Not to mention his army, this was one of the best if not the best group within the Imperial Military Force.

''I just returned today since I had some free time,'' Najenda responded while both Naruto and Miya remained quiet.

Honest didn't bother to respond. He pulled a plate towards him, despite the atmosphere becoming deathly tense because of this little action, the man dug in before speaking to Naruto. ''I apologize for not being able to see you earlier today, General. I had some important matters to deal with...''

Naruto's face twisted into pure disgust when Honest started chewing his food, the food Miya had cooked. Vermin on the side of his table and inside his quarters! Unacceptable, he couldn't accept that. He felt violated that with this filthy piece of meat and that it was eating his food. Blasphemy! That was just like the angel Michael eating the Holy Communion with Lucifer!

This was real. It was happening; he could feel the air around him catching a dark feeling. It sickened him. This place was tainted and no longer pure. Evil had tainted it. The reality sucked his joy in the blink of an eye. He'd worked in purging this place of all evil and it was his pure place.

Naruto felt like driving his hand straight into his throat and take his guts out. His insides were rebelling against his health and causing havoc. To think that he was eating the same food with trash he'd vowed to purge. Unthinkable! He may as well laugh with it while sharing some red wine. Blasphemy!

Naruto hastily put his right hand on his mouth as insides were rejecting the violated food they'd been offered. He quickly stood up and ran towards the toilet. ''Naruto!'' Miya called out, rushing towards him.

Honest looked at Najenda and spoke like nothing had happened. ''So Najenda, what do you think of Naruto?''

Najenda blinked, thoughts racked her mind without care. She shook her head to give them some dizziness so that they could calm down a bit. Naturally, she responded wisely, ''He is a good General.''

Honest merely smiled at the response before continuing to eat. A few moments later, Naruto returned with Miya walking a little behind him. Honest was first to speak. ''I feel rather wounded you feel so disgusted by eating with me that you'd go and throw up.''

''Get out!'' Naruto said coldly. ''Leave now before I do something, and never return to my quarters again. I will murder you if you do something like this again!'' Naruto was spitting out bullets of black flames when he spoke.

Honest was smart, and he knew now that if he stayed further here, he would only welcome nasty things. ''I'll advise that you don't wonder outside the palace. We don't want you causing unnecessary trouble,'' the prime minister took his plate and walked away. The death threat was worth coming here, he'd gotten what he wanted.

As soon as the vermin stood up from his table, Naruto set it ablaze making Najenda jump away. ''Call the fumigators, Miya.'' He ordered. ''Najenda please stay with her, I'm going to get some air.'' He disappeared after those words left his mouth.

Najenda shook her head. Honest was surely going to use this against Naruto if he wasn't careful.

A week later

Honest frowned as his eyes scanned through the latest report he was given by one of his people. Bringing Naruto back here to the capital was giving him much more trouble than he had anticipated. The blond was cutting through crime, like a grass cutter cutting through grass. It was dangerous to do any form of crime or illegal activity within the capital these days.

Honest had not thought that Naruto would give himself time to wonder around the capital searching for those people he labeled as vermin, but the general was doing it. Anyone would rejoice at his actions since he was making the capital much safer for the people, but it wasn't good business for him, or those in his payroll.

The blond had so far put in prison and executed three of his minions who were head of departments and he'd personally taken care of the selection process for the vacant posts he'd created. The blond wasn't time to clean the Capital.

It was fine though, after he deals with him, Honest could work again to get more people into his pocket. It was a bit frustrating though. Now he couldn't pay anyone because people now feared Naruto more than they used to fear him.

The department that was hit the most was the Imperial Police Force. The commander of the police had been removed by Naruto for incompetence and driven out of the capital. The blond had even said he would kill him if he ever stepped into the capital again. Honest hated it when the Police Force was actually doing their jobs, and those who were loyal to the previous king were actually happy with all that was happening.

Why wouldn't they? Naruto was doing what they wanted.

The good thing about this was that Honest could now see those he could pay and those he couldn't. Once Naruto was dealt with, he would have then removed since they would only be a bother to his plans.

"You wanted to see me…" Syura said walking into the kitchen where his father was busy feeding his gut.

Honest nodded and waited for his son to sit down. "I have a job for you, one that you must not fail."

"What is it?" Syura wouldn't miss the chance to make his father proud by completing anything that his father was requesting of him. He would do anything to see his father smile at him after all.

**A month later**

Despite the cheap perfume the Prime Minister was spraying all over the Palace, Naruto could at least focus on the image of Miya within his mind and at least keep his bloody thoughts of the vermin at an acceptable level. Removing all the thoughts about that thing was just impossible, especially when he was living inside these walls. Even now, he could feel its breath diluting the air around the palace.

At least he had his quarters sealed so that thing didn't crawl inside his quarters and infect him. He would certainly catch a disease this time if something of that vermin managed to crawl into his quarters, and the only way to cue it would be destroying the Prime Minister with the flames of Purgatory. Naruto could even feel Amaterasu offering him a nod at the thought.

Another thought that cooled his brains from overheating was the fact that he would eventually purge Honest. He couldn't allow that thing to live forever, especially with what he's been seeing around the Capital. It was certainly despicable. At least with his presence inside the Capital, the filthy vermin's did their activities in the dark where he couldn't see them.

Yes, he'd bathed many with the heated flames of purgatory, in public, for acts such as abuse of power and over anything that he deemed evil. He wasn't going to have Imperial Officers abusing the people they were sworn to protect. It was just truly unacceptable. Punishment for an Imperial Officer doing evil to the people they were sworn to protect was agonizing death.

He had no problems in cooking vermin from within until their skin melted from the inside. He'd set a good example of those who committed evil under his gaze. At least with being in the capital, he was able to keep true to his oath and protect the people of the Empire. He would eventually leave for the battle lines again, and Honest would continue to spread more evil.

Perhaps he would've gathered some allies of justice to work with him in maintaining Order once Honest was purged, and by the time he has to leave for the battlefield again.

Going... Naruto sighed as he realized he'd gone off-track again. He was currently walking within the bright passages of the Imperial Palace, walking towards his quarters. He'd left Miya sleeping when he left early while it was still dark for his morning exercises. He never trained within the grounds in the palace, not with that thing watching him.

If he did that, it would be like he was putting on a show for that thing to watch.

He was sure that he would find the woman still sleeping, especially with the fact that they'd slept at around midnight. Naruto felt that he was blessed by the Gods who brought him to this world to have given him such a woman to care for him and ease his mind whenever things went awry.

Miya was a blessing.

As soon as Naruto opened the doors to his quarters, he felt the stench of blood invading his senses, and everything went off. He never quite panicked regardless of the situation. Even if 10 Ultra-class danger beasts stood before him, he'd never panic, but this smell of warm blood flooded his mind with panic he couldn't quite fully grasp.

He didn't think of anything, even if he could feel that the blood was Miya's. She was the only one he allowed entry inside his quarters aside from the staff workers. At this time, they shouldn't be in here, not when he was out. It could only be Miya, but his mind refused to accept such a conclusion. He told himself it wasn't her blood.

Perhaps she'd just fell down and cut herself.

Naruto bust through the door of his large bedroom and froze at the sight of the bloody body that lying on the bed. The white walls now seemed to have become crimson all of the sudden and the air that was supplied the nature seemed to be the breath of a furious danger beast.

Miya was lying on the bed; legs spread wide, no clothes whatsoever, multiple cuts around her body. It seemed that whoever did this enjoyed inflicting great amount of pain to her body. The only reason that could explain why he legs were spread was that she was raped before murdered. The entrance between her legs seemed to have bled a considerable amount of blood. The white sheets that covered the bed were no longer white; they'd been clothed in a crimson liquid of fresh blood.

That was his precious Miya, no, her corpse. That was the woman who'd slept peacefully beside on the very same bed since he returned to the capital. That was the blood of the woman who was everything to him, she mattered to him more than anything, she'd actually held him on her shoulders when he was down. Her smiled had saved him in countless moments.

Miya; his savior, the one who held his sanity between her hands, the one who cared for him so dearly.

Evil had defiled her, it had defiled him. To think that some third leg of a vermin, a scum, trash, demon, despicable thing had entered her body forcefully, violating that body he so cherished. The body he liked, the body he'd cuddled with in depressing moments, the body that gave him warmth when he was cold, the body he'd held like it was his own, had been defiled by filthy demons who were dressing up as humans.

The thought sickened Naruto to no end. Touching her was blasphemy to begin with. Entering his rest place was a sin punishable by a baptismal of black flames of Amaterasu. Forcing the freaking fifthly third wheel between her legs was cursing, spiting at the gods and telling them that they couldn't do anything.

To think that filthy humans touched her and violated that body...it made Naruto feel like he too had been defiled. His skin shrunk and became itchy, so much disgusted with himself that Naruto felt like he needed to be bathed in the holly waters of heavens.

Looking at the corpse, Naruto could only imagine her screams when pain gripped her...when filthy humans dared touch her, when they violated her. He relived those moments; he could see what had happened, in slow motion. It was as if the gods had given the ability to exist when it all happened, the ability to feel the kind of pain she felt when slash after slash cut through her flesh, he could feel the horror she felt when her legs were forcefully spread out.

The image was enough to make his insides reject everything he'd fed it with. He fell on the violated floor and puked out everything that was inside his stomach. His stomach still hurt like the intestines themselves wanted to leave his body.

His knees were trembling so joyfully, he couldn't stand no more. Despite his mobility abandoning him to fend for himself, his gaze still matched towards the bed. He couldn't even touch her now, or he would feel sick more than he felt now.

Time slowed down when everything suddenly stilled down and the reality stood naked before his eyes; Miya was dead, she'd been defiled by vermin he swore to purge!

No tears left his eyes, they were just dry. How could he cry? He'd lost his 'heart', without his heart, he was just a husk of his former self. From his position, everything looked bleak, rage mounted his mind, and noises started to screech inside his head. It felt like the voice of an 850 horsepower engine was singing inside his head. The melody was neither good nor bad.

The blood inside him bubbled with enough heat to cause steam to escape through his ears and nose. Flames of Purgatory roared furiously, coming to live within the room. They stood like a wall before Naruto before a large mouth of a beast opened and they swallowed the bed as well as the corpse, only spitting our black ash.

A ring of fire surrounded him in his kneeling position and Amaterasu danced in joyful fury on his right hand. The heat inside his body was so much intoxicating that since his tear wells were dry, blood escaped through the eyes without even looking back. It was though there was a great fire inside his body and all living organism wanted nothing but to escape so that the cold grip of death didn't touch them.

Naruto's clouded mind started to wipe all the smoke that was blurring its view, and the power grid was turned on. The only thing he could feel was cold underrated fury. He couldn't even feel any part of his body, nor the fact that he was holding Amaterasu. It was as if all senses in him had shut down, or diverted their power to fury.

Naruto stood up like a programed robot, the thick black ring of flames grew with him and he turned his heels. The room began to silently burn as he made his way out of the quarters.

A predetermined destiny was set; his nose had picked up a scent from hell, he would follow it until he found it. Yes, the target was the demon spawn, Syura.

Naruto's body weighed tons; the evidence of this was left behind because each footstep he took left a stamp on the floor. This was a clear sign on that even the gods were not the slightest happy. As he walked, it was though he was on auto-pilot, no thought dared to fill the blank space within his head.

Each filthy meat he came across while matching towards the pit of the vermin merely tucked its tail between its legs and ran away. Some were calling for General Budo or Esdeath-sama to help them. Some meat that weren't lucky when burned to ash because aside from the ring that surrounded Naruto, there was a wave of flames that was in the rear and back side. They flames acted as guards and consumed anything that stood in the way, human or walls of the palace.

He finally reached the pit he was looking for, he didn't register the amount of time it took for him to get here. The double doors melted in the heat of the rear guard before Naruto silently walked inside the room. The mere fact that he was standing on the floor of a filthy vermin made the flames burst out once more in disgust.

The very air of this quarter acted like gasoline that empowered Amaterasu's flames, setting the place ablaze.

The trash and its minions fell before his black gaze, a large smirk was painted across its face, but sweat was joyfully running rampant around its face.

''You don't look too happy, Black. Is there something wrong? Do you need my help?'' The slaves behind it had taken out their blades as though they wanted to really ''help''. ''Never mind that, you've caused a stir around the Palace, it is only a matter of time before Budo arrives.''

Syura was confident that Budo would be quick to get here before Naruto destroyed the palace. His father had also told him that if Naruto did damage to the palace, the lightning fast old bastard would tear Naruto's body if he had to. His father had worked well in planning this; he'd waited until Budo could return so he could set it up.

He'd tortured and raped Miya until she died. She was a pretty piece of flesh that Naruto never allowed to be touched. But he had the last say in everything; her screams had so much soothed his soul and offered him sacrifices of pure bliss. He'd never had so much fun violating a woman before.

Although his father had said to wait for Budo, Syura was tempted to fight the blond and take him down. Since his father obviously feared the man, he would make his old man proud if he killed the man himself. He could do it with his Teigu!

Contrary to Syura's thoughts, and despite holding their blades, his minions didn't feel so confident. Just a glimpse of those black eyes brought bloody image of their horrifying deaths. Looking at those eyes, they felt like they were staring at the death god himself!

Naruto tilted his head a little, still words refused to leave his mouth. He took steps towards the vermin in the middle.

''Get him you fools! Don't just stand there!'' Syura shouted to his lackeys.

Before the fools could do anything, Naruto suddenly just appeared in front of Syura. The second he was there and still the same second he was here. The son of the Prime Minister didn't have time to use his Teigu as Naruto's blade pierced through his chest. Flames engulfed his entire body after Naruto removed the blade and burned him with unbearable heat forcing him to drop his Teigu and roll about the floor screaming in agony.

''You are not worth the effort,'' although his tone wasn't menacing, they minions could feel that it was just pure anger that was speaking and before they could do anything, flaming hands bust out from the floor and grabbed their feet.

More shrills of pain at the contact.

More flames began to spread across their body, slowly. Naruto didn't spare them a single glance as they joined in the party of rolling on the ground. The flames were controlled so that they didn't turn to ash upon being set ablaze.

Naruto then turn to Syura who was now shouting curses at him, the blond then stomped his right foot on the man's chest. The foot carried enough power to break bones and cause the man to spit out blood. Despite his foot catching the flames, it didn't seem affect him.

''Budo is currently fighting to free himself from his binds; he won't be here to save you. This palace is also surrounded by a wall of flames. Aside from Budo, the fools inside here will only run away from me.'' Despite all his anger, Naruto spoke in a calm tone while his right foot was still pinning the vermin down on the floor.

''Y-you bastard. My father will K-kill yo-'' before Syura could finish speaking, Naruto's left foot crashed into his mouth with such force that it tired through all his teeth and left his face a mess. Naruto pressed down on the vermin's mouth with more force that he separated the lower lip from the upper lip. In simple words, he broke Syura's jaw and left it hanging with the few muscles that held it.

''I'm going to punish you in front of your father, after which, I will kill you both. I made sure that you don't speak because Honest will wish you could at least scream when I punish you, but you won't be able to. There is nothing that is more dreadful than losing your voice when you want to scream out in pain.''

Syura's eyes widened, his body was going through some unbearable pain right now. By all means he should have already lost consciousness, but something was keeping him awake. The flames that were burning around him were eating his body little by little. It felt like he was being pierced by a thousand needles all over his body all at once.

Naruto snapped his fingers and flames bust out beneath Syura. They consumed the remains of his clothes, leaving him butt naked. That was just stripping away his dignity. ''I feel disgusted just to touch you,'' Naruto said, before his right foot crashed onto the man's shin with so much force that his leg broke.

Naruto grabbed the broken leg and started pulling the vermin towards its father by the broken leg while it was still naked. He dragged it until he found the filthy pig in its quarters surrounded by its hounds.

A wall of black flames surrounded both Naruto and Syura so that no one could interfere.

''You must be wondering why Budo isn't here or why the some of the Guards who are loyal to you aren't doing anything at this time.'' Naruto said in a tone devoid of any emotion. Despite his angry state, his mind has never been clear than this. Perhaps it was the shock of seeing Miya dead.

Honest narrowed his eyes behind his lackeys. He couldn't figure out why Budo wasn't here to deal with this. He'd expected the man to be at Naruto's face the moment he went into a furious state. Budo never allowed anyone to put the Palace into danger, not anyone. So why wasn't he doing anything at this moment. Where was Esdeath when you need her anyway?

Honestly, the Prime Minister had never been so scared like this in his life. His rib cage was barely holding his heart together as it was kicking and tossing trying to break free. He wouldn't be too much worried if Naruto was using a Teigu, but he wasn't and he couldn't counter against his flames. He'd banked on Esdeath and Budo to be good generals and appear quickly, but none of that was happening and it made him feel like shooting himself through the head.

''To able to answer that, I must first tell you this; I can control them, my flames I mean, like I control my hand, I can do anything I want them, I can make them seek you like a hound. What I have done, is plant them around this palace - I did that some time ago. I knew that they would come in handy one day.

Planting them isn't that difficult, I merely need direct contact with the target. You in the case have been lucky because I cannot stand too close to you while you're in that condition.

What I've done is that this whole palace is surrounded by a wall of flames that will kill anyone who touches them. Budo is also sealed within his quarters, but knowing him, he will find a way to escape. Well, while he is still struggling to escape from his prison, I will have my bitter sweet time with you.''

The words broke Honest's effective thought process to the point where he wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy. Without Budo, his hounds would be butchered; he didn't underestimate the blond one bit. Calming his trembling nerves, Honest forced a smile. ''I recalled Esdeath back to the capital a few days ago. Any time now, she will be here, and Budo will eventually free himself. If you value your life, you won't do anything stupid and I assure you, I will speak to the Emperor so that he can forgive this matter.''

It was a good bargain, one that Honest would take gladly if it was offered to him. He would take it so he could plot things more efficiently. With Budo and Esdeath in the capital, Naruto couldn't escape with his life. He'd recalled the Ice Queen for this purpose as he knew she was a match for Naruto and Budo would only make things impossible for the blond. Still, he was starting to worry why the woman had yet to appear; she was supposed to have arrived last night.

''Esdeath...'' Naruto sheathed his blade on his back, ''She is already within the Capital. I knew that I'd sensed her while I was out. However, the flames outside will give me more than enough time. I will punish you with haste though.''

Honest decided to play Innocent in order to buy time. Esdeath and Budo had to get here quickly, or he would be killed. He didn't want any of that. ''Punish me, what have I done to be punished?''

Despite knowing what Honest doing, Naruto answered nonetheless, ''You came from hell, have brought pain to the people of the Empire, and your son violated Miya and killed her.' I had planned to do this after I had gained allies, but it can't be helped since your sins have become unbearable even to purgatory.''

''Do you have any evidence of what you speak off? What makes you accuse my son of such actions? If someone was able to sneak into the palace and kill Miya isn't it because of your own carelessness? Aren't you and Budo in charge of the security inside here? Shouldn't you blame yourself?''

The atmosphere became tense in the blink of an eye, and Honest hounds took an unconscious step back, leaving the fat pig open to attack. Naruto's whole appearance just became scary, the look on his face twisted like a man who'd lost all his sanity. The deviously malicious smile formed slowly on his face as black flames came to life around his body, yet didn't seem to consume him, nor his clothes.

His head was cocked to the right; Honest could see imaginary fangs like those of a vampire peering through that twisted grin. It was like he was looking at a demon vampire. Perhaps he shouldn't have posed his questions. If anything, he seemed to have cut down his time instead of extending it.

A malicious laughter of a mad man, no, a man who had nothing to lose roared through the room. The laughter was enough to make Honest feel his skin tighten and intestines grind, he suddenly felt like he couldn't stomach his precious meat at this time.

Naruto's mirth died down slowly and he spoke in a joyfully voice filled with nothing but pure anger and malicious intent. The tone was just like a match stick that lit up the fire inside his body; his blood begun to boil and sweat, not from him only, but also his cowards for guards. The sweat was pouring out of their bodies in heavy currents that wet their clothing.

''I see, I see. How amusing! He says it is my fault that Miya was killed! He said it! He said it was my fault for not protecting her! He said it! He said it!''

Yes, all chains had broken.

A hand rested on his chin, and Naruto began to pace around the ring of flames that surrounded him and Syura, muttering a few words. ''He blames me and now I'm questioning myself if he is right or not. If I had been there it would've not happened, if I had not made the oath, I would not have questioned things, I would have done my duty as a soldier without questions, and then Miya would be alive. Did I kill her? No, that couldn't be it. It is that pseudo-human's fault. That filthy piece of rotten meat did it, he sent his spawn to do it! It is his fault for being evil, it is his fault. Everything is his fault! I'm not to blame, they are to blame, everyone is to be killed. Yes, I should purge them all.''

After those words left his mouth, he came to an abrupt halt and turned slowly towards Honest. Time moved slowly and the eyes of the Prime minister and his guards followed the turn carefully without so much as blinking.

The grin extended to all ears, ''It is your fault,'' he said before turning to face the downed Syura. He hit the ground with his right foot. After that, a wave of flames carried Syura into a standing position, before they formed a cross, and bind the clothe less man. The cross was literally burning Syura, and worse of all, no matter how he tried to scream, his voice couldn't come out, he could only make some sounds like that of a worn out soldier after a heavy battle.

''Don't do anything General! Think about what you are doing. Do you think you can go against the Empire on your own?!'' Honest shouted in fear seeing that his son couldn't do anything in his situation. The likely case was that he was going to be tortured.

''It is your fault! I will purge this vermin! See, I will make it feel pain and send it to hell, after this, you are next you piece of meat!'' Naruto shouted back with so much ferocity that Honest took a step back to be shielded by his goons again.

A fire blade formed on Naruto's right hand, and the blond gripped it firmly. ''Now then, this little thing violated Miya. It did despicable things to her, and I will remove it,'' Naruto's eyes glowed a bit as he grinned more to the nailed man.

Without a single moment to waste, Naruto cut off Syura's precious jewel. The piece of meat fell on the ground and danced around a bit. Blood joyful gushed out of the cut meat. Unconsciously, Honest placed both his hands on his jewels to protect them. Naruto wasn't done; he drove the fire blade straight into Syura's right eye socket.

It wasn't Syura who screamed, no, it was the Prime Minister. ''Ahhhhhh!'' His hands placed on both his eyes so he could see, yet he left a gaping hole between his fingers just in case.

Naruto wrote ''I am a filthy disgusting piece of meat!'' on the chest of Syura. He did so using the fire sword. He'd decided he wasn't going to kill the vermin, yet. The message would last forever since it was imprinted by fire on his flesh.

Naruto pinned the piece of meat on the floor with his fire blade and madly smiled before twisting to face Honest, ''I just thought of something great!'' he exclaimed happily. ''I'm going to feed this meat to you. Now come on you trash, I'm going to be feeding you. You should come here with haste because this is an honor.''

'The fuck!' one of the guards thought. Feeding a man his son's genital was just madness, and nothing short of what Esdeath would do. But then again, this man had a reputation of being a cold-hearted man when his flames came to life.

''Do something you idiots!'' Honest yelled because now Naruto had opened a path for him to enter his little ring of flames. The sick grin planted on his face and hand motions calling him almost made him wet himself.

Before the goons could do anything, Budo appeared looking beyond furious. ''You foolish child!'' He roared before bypassing Naruto's flames and punched the blond straight on his face with brutal punch. That was followed by a shock of electricity and a knee to the gut. The great general then finished with a powerful punch on the blond's chest that sent him crashing into the walls of Honest's quarters.

The flames around the room disappeared, as well as around the palace, freeing everyone. Naruto stood up, cocked his head a little, he was denied the chance to feed Honest the flesh of his son, what should he do now?

''Budo, I'm glad you finally came. I was starting to think that I was going to die. Now, arrest that fool for this treachery, and someone get medical help for my son,'' Honest said sighing in relief. His legs gave out and he fell on the ground. He would probably kiss Budo just about now.

''Shut up Honest!'' Budo snarled back at the Prime Minister. ''Do you think I don't know what you did? You will pay for what you've done, I promise you. But first thing first,'' he looked back at Naruto who still seemed to be thinking. ''Get out of here before I execute you with my own hands!''

Naruto's body burst into black flames and he was gone. Honest nearly smiled hoping that perhaps he'd been killed by his own flames. It was worth hoping for. ''Is he dead?''

Budo's answer shattered all happy thoughts inside Honest's mind.

''No, he just ''excused'' himself, probably because Esdeath is near and because the people outside the Palace have started to panic because of the flames that killed some people.''

''Well, aren't you going after him?'' To Honest, it should be obvious that the blond shouldn't be allowed to live anymore. With him still alive, his life would be in danger and he wasn't waiting for the blond to come and finish him.

''No,'' Budo shook his head. ''I must restore order first before seeking orders from His ''Majesty'''

Honest was already on his feet in a second. ''You restore order in the palace, and I will speak to His Majesty,'' he said, already walking out of the room. His lackeys would see that his son was given the medical attention he needed.

''You are attacking me. Do you wish to kill me, Esdeath?'' His eyes grew red because of the crimson liquid that was burning inside of him. The air around him caught the heat, dispelling anything that might try to fly towards him.

For now, he ignored the presence of the man beside Esdeath. Talking to the fool would only put more fire under the pot that was cooking him. He liked this forest too much to see it crumble into a heap of black dust. For now, he would deal with the blue haired woman whose grinned sickened him.

''Not at all,'' Esdeath responded quietly. However, her next action was a contradiction to her words. She got hold of her weapon and grabbed it firmly with her right hand. For a moment she allowed it to dance about the air. She could barely hold her excitement at this level. ''But if it can't be helped, you'll die, painfully.''

The tone of her voice and that blood lust that escorted the words out of her mouth was only a confirmation that this was real. Those two forsaken fools were turning their backs on him. Betrayal! Utterly unacceptable.

''Have you forgotten what I've done for this empire, you old fool?'' Saying that to Esdeath wasn't going to return him any dividends. The woman was only going to rejoice further recounting all the villages he'd burnt, all the people he'd killed and all the time he made his enemies kneel before him like well trained dogs.

''Your efforts for the Kingdom have not been forgotten. I highly respect you for what you've done over the past years; you've only made this kingdom stronger and defeated her enemies with ease. However, you've become uncontrollable. You refuse to listen to orders and your ideals have become a threat to the peace of the kingdom. More importantly you drew your blade in the palace and killed many Imperial Guards in your anger. You destroyed some parts of the palace while you attempted to kill Honest,'' Budo responded calmly, but quite guarded.

Naruto may be a strong General, but his attitude has recently become ill-fated. He's been doing nothing but refuse orders of the Prime Minister. Even when he is told to do something, he does it the way he pleases. There was also the fact that he shows him no respect. To Budo it wasn't just about the respect, but thoughts of rebellion have been birthed into his mind.

That was not all, with the kind of thoughts that were ringing in his mind, and his recent actions towards the Prime Minister and his son have done nothing but confirm that he could no longer be controlled and this was the last straw. If not dealt with now, he would return to the Capital and cause more destruction.

The Emperor, more precisely, Honest had ordered to extinguish his flames.

The thought of the Prime Minister painted Naruto's head with bloody images. He hated that demon dressed in human meat. He despised that thing with all his might and wouldn't mind sending it to the 9th hell so it could bath in the black flames of the 9th realm for all its eternity. He wouldn't even mind watching it as it screams in agony, calling out for help.

The thing that disturbed him was that he couldn't kill that rotten piece of meat that taints the Imperial Palace with its stink without causing panic and disorder. The current Emperor was a mere child who was still learning how to read and write, without his beloved meat bag, he would become lost child. Budo was there though.

That thing that paraded around the capital like a human and had many followers; followers that made his intestines cringe. If it were to be killed now, a revolt would surely start and it would only drive the kingdom into chaos. As much as he disliked that thing, he couldn't have that, not now at least. He had no allies who could put things in order, he was just one man and there so much that one man could do.

''You bloody fool,'' Naruto responded in a low growl. ''Do you think that makes it alright? I'm not a humble dog that only follows its master binding without question. I may have sworn my loyalty to the Kingdom, if anyone seeks to disturb its peace, I will crush them, either be the prime minister or the Emperor.''

The Emperor was not the kingdom; he was only a human that led the kingdom. Without the people, there was no kingdom and the king was just a human who had big dreams. He understood that the king and prime minister didn't make a kingdom, but the people made the kingdom. What was a king without subjects?

Granted that reasoning, if the emperor or the prime minister were tainting the empire with a rotten stink that make it hard for the people to breath, he would seek to cleanse it. He had joined the army to protect the empire; hence he crushed any enemy of the kingdom without pity or compassion.

Enemies were to be destroyed and their ashes sent to fill out the gaping holes in purgatory.

''This doesn't have to happen if you change your ways and be an obedient solider of the kingdom. You power is valuable, but if in this road, you'll only become a threat to the kingdom and you may take many with you. For this reason, we must deal with this now before your foolish thoughts of rebellion attract other soldiers,'' Esdeath responded in a booming voice that tore through the deathly silent forest. ''Your recent actions have attracted a lot of attention.''

She was more than willing to allow this to slide as long as the blond was willing to adjust his attitude. She wasn't even against the idea of beating some sense into the general. With his current strength, Naruto was bound to be the strongest general the kingdom has ever seen. His attitude and disobedience left little to be desired though.

Yes, Esdeath was willing to forgive Naruto for what he did to Syura and threatening to kill Honest. Syura was weak, and got what he deserved for defiling Miya. She knew well that Naruto wouldn't forgive any harm to that woman. The thought that the blond cared for that woman more than her made her a little happy she was dead.

Threatening Honest was something that Naruto always did. It was a bit different since he'd gone rampant after finding his caretaker dead. Even though he'd killed some Guards within the Imperial Palace, she was willing to overlook it, As long as he promised to change.

Budo knew that Honest only wanted Naruto eliminated because the blond had nearly killed him and as long as Naruto was alive, he would have to be watching his back. That man valued his life like he was a saint and would sacrifice anything to preserve it. With Naruto alive and growing powerful, the prime minister's days were numbered. He didn't give a damn about the man, but he wouldn't allow any act of rebellion from someone like Naruto.

Moreover, Budo knew Naruto wasn't going to relax until Honest was dead. He wasn't going to forgive what happened to Miya.

Naruto snorted distastefully. ''The only one who needs his attitude adjusted is you, Esdeath,'' he responded. He was slowly losing his calmness; it wouldn't do well for earth if he got angry at this time. He tried calming himself so that he could think a bit rationally and cleared. it had taken great effort to calm himself after all that happened. If he flipped again, he may not be able to return to normal again. ''I will not change for anyone, especially when I know I'm right and the likes of you are wrong.''

''It appears that it can't be helped,'' Budo sighed, and then shook his head. ''Prepare yourself then. You will face judgment for your actions within the Imperial Palace. You of all people know that the palace should never be defiled.''

''Defiled? By me?'' Naruto looked bewildered before chuckling rather dryly. His mirth quickly vanished without a trace though. ''I was merely attempting to remove the rotten piece of meat which is the one that is defiling the once pure palace. You shouldn't have stopped me from killing that thing.'' He stated. ''I also cannot forgive it for having Miya killed.''

''The prime minister will pay for spilling blood in the Palace. However, you seem beyond help at this stage. I was thinking that perhaps both Esdeath and I would negotiate a deal for you, but it appears that you're about to eventually rebel,'' Budo stated. ''I'll say it again, prepare yourself!''

''Finally!'' Esdeath breathed out grinning in all corners. ''All these boring talks were starting to sulk away my excitement!''

Naruto looked at the sadist with a straight face. If came out that this woman came from one of the pits of hell where she tortured the bloody souls before her mercy, he wouldn't have trouble believing it. But then again, he wasn't the one to say. ''What is your reason for doing this, Esdeath?''

''I just want to finally have that battle of death with you. I want to cut your skin as much as I can and make you beg for mercy.'' Esdeath responded so casually you wouldn't believe that he was once her partner. Yes, they worked well together and once given the name of ''Black's Death.''

Naruto used black flames and turned everything he disliked into black ash. Thus he was given the name of Black Death. The name was so familiar that many didn't even know his real name. Normally, even from his own army, they called him General Black. He was as fearsome as both Esdeath and Budo. The ''S Death'' part came from Esdeath's own name.

Aside from the battlefield, the two were good friends and got along pretty well. If there was anyone closer to Esdeath, it was Naruto. The same couldn't be said for Naruto; Esdeath wasn't the one who was closest to him, but she was close. Yet, this woman was willing to throw their friendship away all in the name of a good battle.

The reason she wanted him to beg for mercy was because he was a strong willed bastard who refused to bow to anyone other than the previous Emperor. He was by no means weak and could be considered her ''equal''. What could be more thrilling and soothing to her soul than having the man who could rival her in power to beg for mercy under her heel?

There was no feeling that was better than that. The strong survived and the weak were devoured. Naruto was seen as her equal, then she would confirm her superiority over him. If he was weak then he would beg for mercy, not that she would offer any. No, she just enjoyed the sensation of seeing strong men like Naruto begging for mercy.

Another reason she was doing was that Honest had ordered her to do so. Orders were orders, if her friend was becoming weak minded by sympathizing with the weak, then she would not shy away from beating him down. With what happened to Miya, it was obvious that Naruto would not lie down. Hence this had to be done before he drew soldiers of the Empire with him.

''Will you simply throw away our friendship because that piece of meat told you so? Esdeath, how far will go just to satisfy your corrupted soul with the ''sweet'' melody of my agony?'' A rather large frown marred across his face and his eyes flickered a bit dangerously.

''I told you before that if you continued to think of eliminating the Prime Minister, you would've me to deal with. A personal matter aside, an order is an order,'' Esdeath responded calmly. ''Because you are a friend, I must be the one to kill you if it can't be helped.''

Naruto stared into her eyes for a good minute. Her excitement was clearly visible and he could hear her heart beating furiously from his position. He'd tried changing her, but failed miserably. Her ideal way of thinking made her brush off anything that piece of meat did. All she cared for was swinging her blade.

Still, he couldn't...he wasn't allowed to finish his thoughts as the woman swing her blade towards him, a train of ice marched towards him. Naruto had seen this attack so many times and knew that it was sharp enough to slice a human in half.

He drew his secondary blade and cut through the ice in a single swing. Esdeath was behind him in a matter of seconds. That sick grin planted firmly across her face, and her swing was just powerful. Naruto took out the other blade and parried a vertical slash from the woman. Stalemate. Esdeath tried to push him with raw power, but he was more than a match for her. He didn't even move an inch. Black flames bust to life at the tip of his blade forcing Esdeath jumped away from him.

Naruto put away his secondary blade, and held his other blade on his right hand. ''Esdeath, I've grown tired of you. This betrayal cannot go unpunished even if it is an order. You know I'd refuse to carry such order if it was given to me.'' Naruto started holding out his blade to his right side. ''You do not know fear; neither do you Budo, but more importantly, you Esdeath. Death is acceptable to you, and you fear it not. But I will teach you what it means to fear!''

Esdeath merely grinned widely. Those words didn't drive fear into her cold heart; no they only made her body tremble in sheer excitement. She had no fears, would gladly accept death if Naruto was the stronger man.

Naruto continued. ''Whether I live or die, when you remember me, you will have unpleasant memories of this day. Esdeath, I will make you fear me!'' His tone grew cold, and his eyes turned into a void of black emptiness. ''Paint the moon black, and illuminate the earth in a heap of black flames, ignite, Amaterasu!''

No second passed as the ground spat out waves of pure black flames around the blond. The flames danced around the forest turning all the greens into a memory of black ashes. Naruto stood still with the flames joyfully dancing around him.

''Do not interfere; this is my fun!'' Esdeath said to Budo with that insane grin possessing her entire face.

''Now then,'' Naruto's tone was frighteningly calm as he spoke. ''Dance for me, Esdeath.''

Budo didn't say anything. He merely watched as Esdeath lunged straight at Naruto. He'd only come to insure that things went in the way that both he and Esdeath wished for the blond. The orders to kill came from Honest; Budo had no doubt about that. However, if both he and Esdeath were to vouch for Naruto after beating some senses into him, then the man would be forced to reconsider.

With what he'd seen of the blond, it did not appear like he was going to change, and so the given response from both of them was given…

**I thank the reviews from the last chapter.**

**I've yet to decide on pairings, but I highly doubt it will be another Naruto/Esdeath fiction. I will have much to say in the first chapter of the story, which will follow next. I did say that the prologue of this story would span into two chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

**1**

**Flash back**

Ministers of all departments, Generals, High ranking police officers, nobles and other guests were all gathered in one room within the royal Palace. This room was specially designed for events such as this. People were mingling together having some fun while drinking some wine. Nobles got to talk about new ways to increase their power while ministers talked about new strategies to manage their respective departments.

These events were held every now and then. But today was one event that was being held because a new Prime Minister was being presented. Naturally, everyone else who is high ranking has to be present for such an occasion.

The Emperor was sick and his loyal Prime Minister had retired. He'd selected his successor before he left the capital to settle away with his family, however, the man he had elected was suddenly killed before he could officially assume the position of Prime Minister. Since the Emperor was sick, it was important for the prime minister to be active, hence another one was found quickly.

Naturally, with the Emperor sick, the first prince has to be the one to lead the Empire, but things weren't looking good with the children of the King since everyone wanted to lead. In this situation, the Emperor had issued an order that forbade either of his sons to lead the kingdom until they could resolve their issues.

The cheerily mood around the hall was broken when someone bust through the doors. Everyone quieted down when Naruto walked inside the hall, wearing his usual expressionless face.

''I get a message informing me that his Majesty is sick and when I return, I find you people celebrating? What is the meaning of this?'' His cold voice broke through the atmosphere, silencing everyone who wanted to say something. Not everyone would respond because some were actually scared of him.

Budo sighed; he'd expected Naruto to react like this upon finding people showing their smiles when the Emperor was sick. He wasn't exactly just arriving in the capital just now. No, Budo was aware that Naruto has been around here for about a day now; he just hasn't been in the Palace since returning. It was easy for him to move around the capital since nobody outside the Palace actually knew who he was.

The blond didn't care for nobility or anything. He spoke as he liked and saw fit. Though some nobles favored him due to the Emperor's liking for him, some didn't like his presence very much. It wasn't because of anything than the fact that Naruto had no problem in calling a noble a pig if he wanted to.

Akane shook her head as she entered the hall behind her employer. ''Just relax and enjoy yourself, Naruto. You can't expect them to be depressed always because the Emperor is sick.'' She tried to calm things down, but even she knew that it wasn't going to work given the foul mood he was already in.

When Naruto arrived at the gates of the capital, the guards actually tried to extort money from him to allow him entrance and one had suggested ''playing'' with Akane in all forms of nasty ways. Imperial Offices were saying such blasphemy before Naruto. In a true style of his no nonsense policy, he executed them for being corrupt, right there at the gates, leaving the others to clean his mess.

Someone had seen the incident and reported it to the chief of the Imperial Police, and the man had come to Naruto before he could reach the Imperial palace. A few nasty words were exchanged as it appeared that it wasn't the first time Naruto had done something like that.

Akane was forced to use her ''special powers'' to calm him down so that he didn't end up killing the commander of the police force because the man seemed to hold some grudge against Naruto and was suggesting that Naruto had some agenda with him. He'd even gone as far as to suggest his officers might not even have done anything wrong and Naruto had just killed them simply because that was what he did for a living.

Although Naruto had not done anything to the man, he wondered around the capital trying to see how the people were doing. And some of the staff he saw didn't please him at all.

''Be quiet, Akane,'' Naruto said sternly. He walked towards a table and took a bottle of wine before pouring himself some. ''Isn't anybody going to answer my question?''

This was the first time Najenda was seeing him outside the battlefield, and he didn't look much different. His eyes were still cold blue while no emotion was displayed in his face. It was such a wonder how someone as young as him could come here and take control over this gathering, despite being the youngest person here.

As in battle, he was took control of things, and was ruthless. It appeared that he was also ''ruthless'' even in situations like these. What amazed her was the fact that the ever bossy nobles had nothing to say. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that they respected his title as the ''Unofficial Prince.'' Regardless, they didn't seem to say anything whenever he had something bad to say.

It was not everyone who remained quite though; some were actually smiling at his presence.

There were massive egos in here, and yet he spoke like he was the strong man, like this was his house, no one seemed to be saying anything. Perhaps this kind of attitude is the reason he doesn't seem to get well with other Generals aside from Esdeath. Well, it was rumored that the Emperor calls him his son, and he was raised by Budo's family, which has been guarding the Capital for generations.

''We're having a ceremony here.'' One said, while Budo chose to remain quite despite being Naruto's commanding officer. He was rather tired of dealing with the blond. Unless he was forced to act, he would stay out of his way and Naruto would ignore his presence. It was as simple as that.

''What for?''

Honest then chose to show himself after having seen enough. He walked out to stand in front of the blond teen and spoke. ''I was the one who called this meeting and recalled all the Generals here,'' he said. But before he could continue, Naruto spoke.

''What is this thing that stands before me? The feeling it gives me, breathes in the desire to chop its head of the shoulders in one flawless swing,'' Naruto said, it was loud enough for everyone to hear him. His fingers were already licking the hilt of his one cut one kill sword.

The desire was strong, it appears.

''This is the new prime minister, Naruto,'' Akane whispered to his ear. What a way to start off a relationship with the new Prime Minister. How could the man like him when he was already talking about killing him? And Naruto wasn't joking, he was actually serious!

Naruto said nothing further. He twisted around, ''We're leaving Akane; my army needs me. I cannot stand here and chatter while the enemy lurks in an attempt to disturb the peace of the Empire.'' He started walking away without even saying anything else to Honest.

Honest was actually surprised by this blatant lack of respect towards him. To think that he would actually behave like this in front of him... Unthinkable! ''General Black,'' Honest started slowly, halting the retreating movements of Naruto. ''I'm your superior, and you will have to treat me with some respect. I am the Prime Minister, after all.''

Naruto's response was accompanied by a snicker from one of the nobles, who laughed like Honest had said something amusing.

''The only man I will bow to is his Majesty; he is the only superior I recognize. I will not bow to you, and I will treat you like everyone else. Either be a minister or of nobility, you all laugh and live safely because I protect you.''

''We will have a problem if it becomes like that,'' Honest stated calmly.

''That is likely to be the case, but until the Emperor tells me to bow before you, I will not. You just do your job in insuring that the people I fight to protect out there are well provided for, and I will do my job. If you choose to have a problem with me, then do something about it. If you can that is.'' After saying those words, Naruto continued his movements, and disappeared from the hall with Akane.

''He still has a mouth I see,'' one of the nobles stated mildly.

''He has become colder though. But it is nothing. I have no complains with him as long as he does his job perfectly in eliminating our enemies.''

The party returned to normal and people continued their chatter. The minister of health walked up to Najenda, who was standing alone. She smiled when she'd reached the woman. ''An interesting person isn't he?'' she asked.

''Sorry..?''

''General Black, I mean.''

Najenda didn't deny it. ''That indeed he is.''

''What do you think of him as a General?''

Najenda became thoughtful for a moment. She'd worked with him on a few occasions, and she couldn't complain about anything. ''He is a good General who looks after his army, and does his job to perfection. Despite not seeing light with other Generals, most soldiers actually think highly of him as he seems to show the normal soldier respect more than their commanding officer or anyone for that matter.''

The Minister nodded. ''As a person?''

''I couldn't say, I don't know him that much,'' Najenda responded quietly. What she did know was that he was always wearing an expressionless face. The only time she as ever seen him smile was when he was addressing his army or talking to his assistant who also looked like his handler more than anything.

''If there was an opportunity to get close to him, would you take it?''

**Flash Back End**

It wasn't that Honest could know everything that occurred during that night, but that day had been his first meeting with Naruto. He'd only heard things of him before then. It was hard to see him since he always spent time in the battle lines swinging his cursed blade.

Honest always laughed when he recalled such a memory; no one had the backbone to speak to him like that, and even to nobility. Honest once heard that before he was even a General, just a Colonel, the nobles tried to get him to bend them over their will, but his response was, ''you have no control over me, nothing whatsoever on me. Noble or just a mere civilian, you're all the same. You depend on my strength for safety. I do not live because you do anything for me, but I keep you and everyone else safe. So tell me, why should I treat you any different from a random civilian, if you all look to me for protection?''

The Emperor was said to have only been amused when Naruto gave such response. However, what the nobles didn't know about was that Naruto was actually of nobility in respect to the fact that he was raised by Budo's family, which has always been the closest family to the Royal family. Well, they did find out eventually and stopped any funny business with him.

It was lucky that by the time Makato was born Naruto had already started fighting in the battle lines. If it wasn't like that, it wouldn't have been easy to make the boy listen to him. He was also fortunate that Naruto had chosen to distance himself from the race to the crown. If he hadn't done that, things would've surely taken a different turn.

It was no matter now, Esdeath had killed that fool. It was such a shame too since he could use his power. Still, he had his Ice Queen, as long as she got what she wanted, Esdeath would do anything he requested of her. Life was much easier with that fool dead and buried. It was a pity they could also not retain his blade. If they had done such, they would have a powerful weapon in their possession.

Night Raid had become a nuisance with killing the people in his payroll though. He would get rid of them soon. It was only a matter of time.

Honest looked up when he saw his guest coming up to him - he was inside his quarters, sitting beside the dining table. The Minister of Health and Public Welfare was here to see him. He smiled looking at this beautiful purple head woman; she wore a silk purple dress - it was a bit revealing above her chest and on the side of her left hip. She was only in her late 20s, yet she was the nuisance aside from all the ministers.

He had attempted to get her on his payroll countless times, but each time she refused him with a simple no. Even when he threatened to frame her for some crime she didn't commit or just have her killed, she still said no. Now Honest knew that there was something she had her trust on, if not she wouldn't refuse him when she knew he had many killed or imprisoned for refusing him.

He tested the waters by sending assassins after her, but the next day, this woman was still alive. He didn't attempt to get her killed once, no, in numbers, it was in seven occasions over the previous 3 and a half years that he'd sent assassins after her. Honest could never figure out who protected her because whoever he sent never came back.

What frustrated him the most was the audacity of this woman to come to him and tell him all about it even when she knew he was trying to kill her. If it wasn't for the fact that she disappeared without a trace whenever Esdeath returned, she would've already been dead by now. Even if he gives her an order to remain, she will disappear when Esdeath comes back.

''Minister of Health, please sit down,'' Honest said smiling, not bothering to stand up to greet the woman. They didn't like each other, even though they were always smiling. ''What did you want to see me for?''

The woman smiled at Honest, ''You're not the one for chitchat, and I was hoping we'd kill some time before I return to my mansion.''

How could Honest forget? This woman wasn't just a minister, she was also of nobility. She was the only child to her parents, who passed away years ago. Being that she it was only her in her house, she has control over her family's wealth. Money wasn't something she lacked, and for this reason, Honest never attempted to bribe her with money.

''You must forgive me, but I have many duties to fulfill, so I don't have much time,'' Honest a bit too nicely.

''That is understandable, you're the Prime Minister after all,'' the purple haired said. She took out a file and pushed it towards Honest's side. ''Take a look at that file.''

''What is it?'' Honest wasn't going to open it while this woman was still here.

''I came to you when the attempts to take my life started. I told you that I didn't trust the Imperial Police chief because I think he is a corrupt official, and I could only trust you since I thought you'd wish for my best as I was the one who saved your son,'' the words just left her mouth smoothly.

''I promised you I would look into it but I haven't been able to find any luck,'' Honest responded calmly.

''I know, but it doesn't matter as I was able to get some valuable information.'' Honest's eyes glued at the woman. ''We were able to catch one of the assassins alive from the last attempt. After months of struggling, I was able to develop a truth serum, and got him to tell the truth. He told us who hired him.''

Honest was 100% sure there was truth serum and this woman was just saying to screw with him. She already knew that it was he who had sent the assassins. She also knew that he knew she knew everything.

''I will take a look at it and insure that proper measures are taken. I will handle it personally since you believe the Police Force is corrupt and won't do anything.''

''Thank you, prime minister,'' the woman stood up. ''I will hear from you.'' With that, she excused herself from Honest's presence.

Once the devil was sure she was out of sight, he opened the file, and saw his image. He laughed madly for a few seconds. ''What kind of game is that woman playing?''

Honest shrugged; he would get her eventually, and he would take care of her. She was a desirable woman; he would surely have fun with her, when he does get her.

**Night Raid**

The people in here were much more joyful than Tatsumi would have thought for a group of killers who raided the streets of the capital during the night. While he was forced to come here, Tatsumi found himself at comfort under the warm smiles of the Night Raid members. They weren't so much of bad people as some in the capital painted about them.

He hadn't expected the leader of such a fearsome group to be a woman like Najenda. The gender wasn't the surprise, no; she just seemed too kind for someone who leads a group of wanted killers. The first poster he'd seen in the capital was Akame's, and he'd really thought that these people were nothing but a bunch of killers, but that wasn't the reality of things.

Leone suddenly smacked him on the shoulder, causing him to hastily turn around - a glare was served at the blonde on a silver platter. But she was only amused by it.

''What did you do that for?'' Tatsumi shouted. Aside from the fact that he was forcefully pulled out of his thoughts by the hit, it actually hurt.

''You'd spaced out, that was a good way to bring you to us, don't you think?'' she was ready to smack him again just for the fun of it. But Tatsumi quickly make some distance with the woman to avoid being hit again.

Unfortunately for him, when he backed away from Leone, he ended colliding with Mine. Well, the obvious result was the pink haired girl hitting the ground since Tatsumi had more built than her.

Mine furiously got up from the floor. She was more than ready to teach the newbie a few lessons. That was just blatant disrespect to her as an experienced assassin. No, the boy wasn't even a member of their group yet. They were just keeping him because he'd seen their faces and their policies were against the killing the innocent.

''Let me just kill him already! He isn't one of us and has seen our base, let me just get rid of him,'' Mine's hands were already twitching towards, Pumpkin, where it was supposed to be. She didn't carry her Teigu all the time, but right about now, she wished she had her weapon to blow some holes on the newbies forehead.

Aside from Mine and Tatsumi, everyone else within the room was deathly silent, but the two didn't notice it.

''But you dragged me here!'' Tatsumi shouted, staring straight at Mine; both hands held in a defensive manner. He didn't even want to be here in the first place. The big guy, Bulat had dragged him here under Leone's orders. He was basically abducted! So it wasn't his fault that he'd seen their base, it was theirs for bringing him here.

''Yeah, Akame should have just killed you back then.'' Mine paused when she suddenly realized that there was an eerie silence out of hers and Tatsumi's world. Her silence also caught her partner's attention. Mine noticed that everyone's eyes were glued at one direction; the entrance of the room.

There was a blond man standing there silently, hands folded across his chest, and his blue eyes were just void of anything; they were purely empty. The hair reached down on his shoulders, it was spiky at the top and bangs cover each sides of his face; a few short bangs over covered his entire forehead, reaching down just above his eyes.

He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt. The shirt was tight around his body, showing some fine muscles. He wasn't overly muscular like Bulat, but it was something. On top of the shirt, he wore a long sleeveless black coat, completely made of cotton. The coat hanged around both his shoulders; it was without collars and it also reached down at his ankles, but never touched the floor. Red flame patterns were imprinted along the hemline of the coat. To complete the attire, he wore black cotton trousers that seemed to tighten up from the knees downwards. His fingers were covered in white bandages.

The strange thing he wore was his shoes; he was wearing black shinobi boots.

The thing that shocked them was that no one had sensed him appear, not even Lubbock who had set up traps around the hideout, not even Akame who was an assassin by 'nature' had sensed him appeared. Neither did Leone who had the senses of Lionelle did not sense him.

Najenda had the most shocked expression from everyone. It was the kind of an expression someone wore when they saw a ghost. The former general was glued onto her seat as her mind tried to process whether she was starting to see things or not.

Weapons were ready by the Right Raid members, ''who are you, and how did you find the location of this place?'' Akame demanded, hands already on Murasame's hilt, ready to be deployed for action. More importantly, how did he even manage to get so far close to them without anyone noting it? She expected such traits from an assassin.

The blond man merely tilted his head a little to the left. Akame noted that though he was looking at her direction, he wasn't looking at her, but her blade. He still didn't answer her question after his gaze left her blade.

He took a few steps forward, and not a sound was made by his footsteps. Not a damn sound. It was like the guy was walking on air. His silent movements were forced to come to a halt when Akame and Leone flashed right in front of him. The latter was in a crouched position, claws ready to rip out his intestines; the former was standing straight with a narrowed look on her face; her blade was supposed to be dangerously pressed against his neck.

"Supposed," being the key word.

The second finger after the thump of Naruto's left hand had stopped her blade from reaching his neck. How the stranger had moved his left hand to bring it up was a mystery to Akame. She had not seen a thing. The last thing she saw of his hands before this was that they were both folded across his chest.

That wasn't the most surprising thing though; he had stopped Her blade from reaching his neck, with just his finger. She could argue that she'd not swung it with the intension to cut through his neck or anything. However, the fact that it didn't reach his neck meant that he'd stopped it from doing so because she'd aimed for that. And Akame could feel some resistance through her blade.

If so then he stopped it, how was he not cut? Why is he not bleeding?

The look on his face didn't change, even for a second. Even in this close distance with him; Leone couldn't get any feeling from his presence. She couldn't pick up his scent - it was like he didn't have any. Without the change of expression, his body showed no violent reaction to their movements.

He wasn't even looking at either of them.

Just what the hell is this guy? Who dared block a swing of a blade by a finger like that? Not even Esdeath would be stupid enough to do something like that. Knowing Akame's ability, Leone had expected him to be cut down and bleeding. But none of that had happened; he was still standing as though nothing had happened.

Finally, he spoke. ''Naje-chan, your subordinates are trained well,'' his voice was just smooth, calm and relaxed. And it washed over the room like a cool breeze.

The thing that caught everyone off-guard was ''Naje-chan''

That was the first time anyone had ever heard someone calling their boss like that, even Lubbock, who knew Najenda the longest had never heard had anyone call her like that. All eyes turned to the boss, and finally, they were able to see her shocked expression still glowing joyfully on her face.

''Naje-chan,' where did that come from?'' Lubbock demanded, glaring at the side of the blond who dared call his Najenda Naje-chan. unfortunately, the green haired was shamelessly ignored by the blond who was standing in front of Najenda.

How he got past Akame and Leone was a mystery. Neither felt anything, they just blinked and saw him standing there with her.

The blond then sat on Najenda's lap, facing her right. He twisted his upper body to face the purple haired woman. ''I miss you, Naje-chan, I ready do.'' His face fell between Najenda's breasts, and both hands got behind her for a hug. What was noticeable was that he was slowly rubbing his face against her breasts.

Mouth of the males hung wide open. How Najenda could permit such perverseness was mystery to everyone who'd come to know her.

It wasn't long before the Boss Chop fell down onto the blond. The hit sent the blond crashing towards the wall in a heap. The previously thought strong man was now suddenly weak.

Lubbock's eyes became wide when he saw that Najenda was buttoning her top silently. How did that freak did that? And when did he do it? Did that mean that there was nothing standing in the way when he was rubbing his bloody face against Najenda's chest? Does this mean that he was actually feasting on the real deal?

Unbelievable. Totally unbelievable!

''You are dead,'' Najenda stated in a cold voice. It was more of a statement than a question, even though the person she was speaking to was clearly alive and right within her sight.

Lubbock, neither Akame had ever heard Najenda's voice so cold. Bulat had known her from the military, but even he had never heard her voice so cold and lifeless. It actually scared him. However, the woman didn't seem that lightest furious about anything. She'd just lost her happy expression, like it had been just sucked out of her.

The atmosphere was quiet tense. Tatsumi's heart was beginning to pace around more than it normally does because of this kind of pressure that had formed when Najenda spoke those three words. The village boy was thinking that perhaps ''you are dead'' meant that she was going to kill him for his earlier actions. Her lack of actions has proved that there is more to those words.

The stranger regained his composure and leaned against the same wall he'd hit; his hands were put inside the pockets of his pants. The same look he was wearing was still planted across his face.

''Reportedly,'' it was just a continuation to Najenda's ''you are dead.''

Najenda turned her gaze towards the blond and silently stared at him for a good minute without so much as blinking. She turned away from the blond and looked at her subordinates. ''Stay here,'' it was an order. The woman stood up and walked away from the room. The blond stranger was nowhere to be seen by the time Najenda exited the room.

''How does he do that?'' Tatsumi wondered aloud before asking. ''What was all that about, do you guys even know man?'' The evidence and actions of both Akame and Leone would suggest that they too didn't know who he was, but you could never know.

''Your one of a kind welcome,'' Mine said clearly sarcastic. She was rather frustrated at the lack of knowledge in anything that had happened. She didn't have a clue to who that man was, and his actions towards their boss meant that he was closer to her.

Najenda didn't even seem angry at his perverseness despite hitting him on the head. Normally, anyone who got a little closer would have been beaten to a pulp. However, not even a pervert in the form of Lubbock had the guts to attempt something like that. Yet than blond had done it, in front of them all, while saying he missed her. Mine didn't pick out any emotion to his tone since there wasn't anything to read.

''Does anyone know that guy?'' Bulat questioned. He'd already racked his brains before, but he couldn't figure out who that man was. He couldn't even begin to understand what happened between them for Najenda to greet him with ''you are dead.''

''I don't know him, but I think I may. I just haven't been able to figure where I know him from.'' Akame said, trying by all means to figure where she'd seen that face. She'd seen him before, but she couldn't quite place where. ''Regardless, Boss will tell us about it when they return.''

They didn't keep secrets from each other, even if it was their Boss. Najenda always told them everything, well not everything, but she was always honest with them. Akame couldn't think that she wouldn't explain things to them after she'd finished sorting whatever she wanted to deal with.

''Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking?'' Leone asked quietly. No one responded though. ''A stranger shows up, calls our boss ''Naje-chan'' and played at her bosom while sitting on her lap. Our boss responds by saying ''you're dead,'' don't you guys think that perhaps he might be an old boyfriend?''

Everyone looked at Leone for a moment before Lubbock exploded. ''Hell no!'' the green haired shouted. He has known Najenda for far too long, if she had been in a relationship with him, he would have known. He had invested much time and effort in her to miss something so important.

Leone grinned at Lubbock, ''Are you perhaps jealous Lulla?''

''Hell no, there is no way...'' he trailed off when he recalled something. ''Jealous'' jogged his memories a bit. There was a time he felt really jealous when he saw a framed picture in Najenda's stuff. He only saw the picture once, and has never seen it in quite some time.

The picture he saw was a face of that man and Najenda. They looked ready close, and they'd been younger, perhaps in their late teens when the picture was taken. Najenda was wearing a smile that Lubbock had never seen from her, even though she still smiles today, that smile she wore in that picture seemed special. The green haired had felt it when he saw the look on her eyes.

''Well, I'll be dammed...'' Lubbock mumbled.

''What, did you remember something?''

**A Little away from the Night Raid Base**

Najenda stared deep into Naruto's eyes trying to search for something, something that could explain all these, but she couldn't see anything, other than a blue pit of nothingness. As far as she knew, he was dead. She had even seen his dead body. Esdeath had paraded his corpse like a trophy in front of every General after he was killed. It was an example that was set for any other who was having thoughts of rebellion. The woman had gleefully gloated about murdering him, she'd gloated that she made him cry and beg for mercy.

Najenda had been shocked to learn that Naruto was killed. Even though Esdeath said she was the one who killed him, Najenda had not quiet believed that she could have done the deed alone. No, it was said that Budo was there when the two battled. She'd even gone to the area they'd fought, and made a discovery that even Budo had fought.

With Budo and Esdeath, and the corpse to prove it, Najenda had not doubted that he was killed. The only thing that was missing was his blade. Honest had very much used the opportunity presented to him to threaten everyone. He told them that regardless of how strong they were, they would always fall in the same casket as Naruto. The incident had only made Esdeath position as the strongest in the capital grow.

For these past years Najenda had believed without single shed of doubt that he was dead. She believed that Naruto had been killed by Esdeath and then buried behind the Imperial Palace as an honor for all the work he'd done for the Kingdom. Only those in Military were affected by it since no one from the public actually knew that the blond was a general. Some nobles were affected, but didn't show any of it to avoid being killed.

Things really changed after Naruto's death. Honest grew even brave, plunging the Empire into the pits of hell. Yes, the Empires people were suffering day and night, with Honest standing high above their heads eating his meat gleefully while he intoxicated himself in the scent of their suffering.

His presumed death had only strengthened Najenda's believe and resolution. Even with the odds stacked against her, the former General of the Imperial army had matched on with her convictions. It was either she succeeded or perished trying. The presumed death didn't do any harm to strong willed people like her, no it only reaffirmed her belief, while the work coward and bended down to Honest's will.

But now here she was, standing before a dead man. She couldn't really understand how he'd matched out of the pits of hell. Death was the undefeated champion of the underworld. Once it managed to drag you out of this world, there was no escape, there was no return. Yet he was here, looking perfectly fine.

He wasn't an imposter. There was no way Najenda couldn't tell the difference between Naruto and an imposter. Perhaps she should be more shocked to see him alive, especially since she saw his corpse. Perhaps she wasn't freaking out because a part of her always longed to have him by her side again.

His eyes showed nothing to her, yet a small smile was planted across his face. The look on his eyes was a clear betrayal to the smile; he was smiling, but in truth, he wasn't. Najenda didn't know which to look at, the smile or the emptiness inside of his eyes. Somehow she felt that she could understand why he looked so empty in the inside. She'd heard what happened to Miya, and heard that he may have actually lost it during his rampage in the Imperial Palace.

However, she would prefer it if he just didn't smile; his eyes and smile gave different messages.

A few minutes of mild silence passed and Najenda finally spoke. ''How are you alive? I saw your corpse, I touched it. There is no mistake about it; there body we buried was yours. How are you alive then?'' There was still no emotion in Najenda's tone. She couldn't afford to show any of it. Not after what she had to go through because of his supposed death.

Naruto was leaning against a tree trunk with his back, hands still inside his pockets. ''You've become cold, Najenda.'' The questioned remained unanswered with his response. ''I didn't think you'd offer such a cold welcome to me of all people. But I guess it can't be helped.''

''What? Did you expected me to jump all over you, clinging on you tightly like you'd just return from a five year trip?'' The mild sarcasm clicked within her tongue so joyfully. ''Forgive me if this is a little overwhelming to me. But it isn't every day that you see a dead man actually alive. I mean, we buried you, and Esdeath triple checked to see if you were actually dead.''

Naruto merely smiled in response. He'd never seen her so worked up before. Understanding that he was actually was a hard for her given that she saw his dead body. It was actually a shame that she had to be forced to witness such a thing. This was a reality that one couldn't just accept like that, not after all these years passed.

If she had believed that he was dead, then seeing him alive would be like seeing a ghost. To accept that he was actually alive, she would have to discard her belief, a belief she spent the past years accepting. Everything in her being, body, soul and mind believed to their respective cores that he was dead. Showing up alive was just shattering that belief.

Naruto walked over to the woman; he wrapped his hands around her and brought her closer to him, holding her firmly. The weight of his body pressed against her. He didn't care if she no longer had her right hand, he didn't care if she was wearing an eye patch - she was Najenda, and nothing would change that.

His right hand moved up from her back towards her head. Her ruffled up her hair a bit and absorbed its scent; nothing familiar, nothing intoxicating, and nothing to feel from such an action. ''I'm truly alive, Najenda. I have been alive for these past five years. Esdeath didn't kill me; I just made her believe that she killed me.'' He whispered down to her right ear, while still holding her closer to him.

Najenda's body couldn't remember when he felt so cold – he felt no different from a corpse. But the scent was his. She couldn't deny that it was him and he was actually alive. He once held her like this during one of those good days, the days he wasn't drunk, the days Miya wasn't closer to get in between them. However, he had something to give her those days, now, she felt like she was tied to a mummy. Nevertheless, this was General Black, her former comrade and good friend.

''How do you explain the corpse then? What did we bury then?'' Najenda couldn't believe it all without filling the blanks first. Only a stupid person would believe all these without getting some answers.

''Teigu's each have what people call a Trump card. My blade is a far more mysterious weapon than the Teigus, and I can proudly say that it is stronger than all Teigus. If Teigus have a special ability, then my blade has to have one. One of the special abilities of my blade is that it can materialize into a perfect copy of me. The drawback is it can't speak, however, it can do whatever that I can, albeit at a lower level.

The copy that is made can bleed, be wounded, however, although it has a 'heart', it doesn't actually need it. Despite the form, it is still a blade. So, if Amaterasu took my place when Esdeath was about to deliver the final blow, and stopped the functioning of all her ''internal organs'', you have a perfect dead body.

Another thing is that it has a limit, and if Esdeath had allowed anyone to play with the corpse, they would discovered some irregularities and seen that it wasn't what it appeared. Well I didn't have to worry since I knew Esdeath would never allow anyone to touch her trophy, especially if it was big as me.''

Najenda pulled away from him and stared deep into her eyes. She slapped him on the right cheek. The slap resounded around the area they were in. ''Do you know that I cried when I heard Esdeath had killed you? Do you know how much it pained me to see Esdeath parading gleefully at your death?''

''I cannot possibly know that, but I can only assume,'' Naruto responded. ''It must have been hard on you. I know for certain that Esdeath likes to gloat and she can actually do it perfectly. You'd want to kill her when she gloats. I'm sorry that you had to be in such a situation.''

Even though he tried to give a sad smile, the emptiness in his eyes just stared right back at her. Najenda couldn't tell whether he was being honest or not; there was no emotion whatsoever in his tone.

''Why didn't you say anything, Naruto? Why didn't you appear before me sooner?'' If he had told her that he was alive, she wouldn't have cried as much as she did. Her resolution to free the Empire wouldn't have wavered - she would have still made the decision she took those years when she decided to defect from the Empire.

She would have been happy knowing that he was alive, she would have never had one of those moments of fragility when she questioned if she would end up like him or be a success. Naruto was no doubt stronger than her, yet he'd fallen in the hands of Esdeath. If Naruto couldn't do it, how could she? Such questions often plagued her mind because of his presumed death.

''I couldn't. I was standing on the tip of a needle back then and my sanity was close to leaving me. I had to focus on regaining my sanity and seeing other things. I spent much of the past years locked away from civilization, to be precise; I spent about 3 years without speaking to a single human. After that, there was a lot that I had to do, and my survival had to remain a secret until I chose to reveal myself.'' Naruto said quietly.

''What happened to your army?''

It was a question that everyone within the Imperial still asked even today. No one could answer it though. Speculation and wild guesses went through the air, but there was nothing concrete. The reality of things was that Naruto's army had disappeared from the face of the world. There was no trace of their presence anywhere. It was like they'd just vanished or earth had just swallowed them.

Honest had ordered for their search for the first year of Naruto's ''death.'' However, he eventually gave up and said, ''It didn't matter since their leader is dead.''

Rumors ran wild saying the Army of Black or Purgatory had retreated to the black depths of purgatory to revive their master and would one day return to haunt down the one who killed their master. It was just a made up story that soldiers used to scare rookies within the Imperial army. Najenda found the story amusing in all truth.

The story was even told in the streets of the capital, but what the civilians didn't know was that the army of the General Black had actually vanished without a trace. It sounds unbelievable for more than 2000 men to just vanish from the face of the world, but it actually happened, and the first years were shaky for many people as they feared that the army would just appear in the name of vengeance.

But over the years, soldiers thought of no light to it.

''When Esdeath and Budo confronted me, I was heading towards my army. I knew that after I'd lost it, Honest would call for my death. My army would also be in danger because they only show loyalty to me, so I wanted to move them somewhere safe while I sorted things out.

While that woman paraded my dead ''body'', I sent a message to my army with locations of where would move to. The parade and my burial took some time to complete, and while that happened, my army disappeared after getting my message.''

Najenda looked at Naruto carefully thinking things through. ''To accept your orders, they had to have known what you were planning. I have one question, did you appear before them?''

Naruto shook his head. ''I'd sustained some injuries, and I was really tired. I couldn't reach them in time, and they would've been noticed. A message was a better option to get them to safety.''

''They must have heard that you were dead, don't you think they could've discarded the message since you were dead?'' He was the symbol of hope, a symbol of salvation, and if he was gone, wouldn't they lose their hope? Najenda believed that Naruto's army had seen what he was truly capable off, and if they were told he was dead, then they had to lose hope as an unbeatable man was defeated.

He was their pillar, so if the pillar crumbled, the hole building has to fall; that was just the natural order of things.

''Najenda, why do you think I reduced my men from 8500 to just 2000?'' Naruto asked.

Naruto's army was arguably the best within the Imperial Kingdom. They were small in numbers, compared to the other armies led by a General. However, they were the most effective. While they lacked in numbers, their quality made up for it. Esdeath army was their only rival despite the woman having about 10000 men under command. However, if the two armies were to battle each other, Esdeath's would win. The woman's army wasn't just big in numbers, they were also skilled warriors.

The Ice Queen liked the strong after all.

''Wasn't it because you didn't like commanding that amount of men?''

''I cut off the numbers because I wanted people who could follow my ideals, people I could trust, and people who could have unwavering faith in me. My army is of men who saw the wrong in Honest, why do you think I didn't like the thought of having some of them Join Esdeath?''

''That is understandable, but you still handed some of them to Esdeath, and left most of them to Heisuke. '' The ones that were given Esdeath didn't know a damn thing and some of them were killed because they didn't know anything. ''So this means your real army has men above 1000 in numbers but no more than 1500.''

Naruto nodded. ''There is something I gave to my men; it is a torch of black flames. In everywhere they camp, the torch is always put in the middle. They call it the ''Light of Black,'' I told them that as long as the fire burns, there is still hope. The flames were from my blade, and if I was dead, the ''torch'' would stop burning.''

Well that made sense. ''What more have you been doing? And didn't you say you had no allies?'' His army was his ally. With them, he could have done so much.

''There is so much that an army can do Najenda. If we were going against the entire Kingdom's army, my army would have been destroyed.'' Naruto simply responded. ''To answer your first question; I have been busy doing a lot of things really.''

Najenda got the hint, and dropped the matter. ''Where is Amaterasu? Is she buried in your grave?''

Naruto shook his head. ''I have Amaterasu,'' he said.

''How did you even find us anyway?'' This location was secure. No one from the capital knew of its location, this is why they were still hunting people such as Akame, and she didn't think he's been back in the capital for that long since she would've known about it.

''I have eyes and ears,'' he didn't give her a straight answer. ''Just so you know, I only returned about a month ago. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner; I had to prepare a ball I wish to play with some nobles.''

Najenda narrowed her eyes. She didn't mistake the fact that Naruto was practically royalty having being raised under the watchful eye of the previous Emperor by Budo. There are some who called him the unofficial prince. It is one of the reasons Honest didn't like him very much. However, almost all the nobles were in the Prime Ministers payroll, so what was Naruto doing?

''Why did you come back Naruto? I know you're not part of the revolutionary army. Have you come to finish Honest and his son?''

''Five years ago, I said these words to "Miya"; I will purge evil against the Empire's people, I will continue were I left off with Syura, I will torture Honest until he dies, I will break Esdeath apart, and lastly, I will free the empire. Until I can do that, I will not step closer to your sight,' that is what I said to her, and that is my oath.''

**Back with others**

''They are coming back,'' Leone announced to everyone. Silence settled in as Najenda walked back into the room with Naruto beside her.

Najenda took her seat and Naruto stood on her left, leaning against the chair. None said anything as the members of Night Raid waited for answers from their boss.

''So you guys are curious, huh?'' Najenda said, earning nods from the group in front of her. ''Well this is Uzumaki Naruto. His name is not known to many. I don't think there are even five people in the capital who can say his full name. Many know him is General Black, one half of ''Black's Death.'' I know, he is supposed to be dead, but he is actually alive,'' although Najenda seemed to be happy about it, her tone betrayed it was it was actually said in bitterness.

Complete silence.

''I refuse to believe that,'' Mine said. ''General Black was, and I emphasize this, ''Was'' rumored to be fearsome warrior who was a demon in battle. He looks nothing like a demon, and I was told that he had black hair not blond.''

There was just no way this man could be the infamous General Black. There was just no way. The man was an idol to many, even though not many knew of his real face as he always hid away from the public eye. Only those in the military could give a clear picture of him, but many tended to exaggerate.

Some said he was cruel and sadistic like Esdeath while others said he was nothing like the Ice Queen. The problem wasn't helped as those who truly new the man refused to speak up. Regardless, General Black was a legend within the Imperial Military. His feats were nothing short of miracles.

Najenda was saying that this man was General Black? Lubbock could understand why she looked so shocked to see him and it would explain the picture he once saw. It wasn't a secret to him that Najenda and General Black were friends. But still, how was he alive? Najenda had looked so broken she heard that he was killed in battle by Esdeath. Her tears were real; they weren't faked back then.

Did it mean that she didn't know that he was alive? Well, it would explain why the first words that came out of her mouth were ''you are dead'', and those words were said in a cold tone. It explained a lot. Najenda believed this man was the real deal, so he was must be. If she wept because he died, then she must know him.

Bulat had been told many contradicting stories by his own former commander about this presumed General Black. However, what he did know was that his General held no love for the man. Liver rarely spoke anything good about the man who was somewhat seen as a legend in the military forces. Even though he never got to see him, his name was never forgotten within the military camps.

General Black; the man was said to be only second to Budo in military rankings. This means that if he was still in the military, if Budo died any time soon, he would be the highest ranking General within the Military forces.

Many stories were said about his death in the hands of Esdeath. Some things just became wild rumors that had no truth in them. Usually when a rumor starts, it starts from the truth, just like a myth. However, people took things to another level sometimes. However, what was known to anyone in his ''death'' it was that he was killed by Esdeath.

This of course only raised the untouchable Ice Queen further above. Because Esdeath was said to be the one to kill black, the General of Death, her power was elevated. Some even got to the point of saying that if she could defeat Naruto, then she could defeat Budo. Rumors aside, the woman's reputation became fearsome because of it.

It wasn't that she didn't deserve any of it.

What would happen though, if it came to light that he was actually alive?

''That man? He is a cruel bastard who cares for nothing but crushing his enemies. He is a cold hearted soldier; sometimes I even think he is worse than General Esdeath. If you see him fight, you will know that he is indeed a demon as people say he is.

What infuriates me the most is that when he is the presence of the King, he is all smiles and respecting towards the old man. But he never calls anyone with respect. There is no General that receives respect from him, not even Budo. That is not my problem though, but I just hate that when all general meet together, he is capable of ignoring everyone else, and is always next to the Emperor. He is arrogant and doesn't acknowledge any General weaker than him to be a real ''general.''

People say he is great and everything. But that man only shows kindness to the Emperor, and is very disrespectful. I hate him.'' Liver had once spoken those words to him, and the ''man'' he was talking about was a 16 year old boy-general. Despite everything Liver said about Naruto, he never called him a boy, despite his age.

The fact that this man was actually alive would explain why his army suddenly disappeared from the face of the world and why no one was ever able to catch their scent. This could only mean that he was somewhere else plotting.

His iconic hatred towards Honest was never a secret to anyone.

''I've heard stories about you from my former commander and I've always wanted to meet you and confirm what was said about you,'' Bulat said with a small smile. Naruto nodded.

Before Naruto could say anything, Akame spoke. ''Bulat, you don't seem to have any doubt that he is indeed The General Black,'' it was not a question. Even though they couldn't feel anything back then, she could now feel something off him. And those empty eyes weren't of anybody. ''Now I remember why your face seemed familiar.''

Najenda sighed tiredly and narrowed her eyes at Naruto for a moment; he seemed to be carefully looking at her subordinates. She still didn't know what he was doing here aside from coming to see her. There had to be a reason he was here. ''I assure you, this is him; I should know better.''

''How is he alive then?''

''You shouldn't ask questions that are bigger than you, little girl,'' Naruto spoke, looking directly at Mine. There was some coldness in his tone that just froze pink haired girl from saying anything further.

Najenda coughed to gain everyone's attention. ''Introduce yourself to Naruto,'' she ordered to everyone.

Naruto waved his right hand. ''There is no need for that; I already know them all.'' He said. ''Bulat, Mine, Leone, Sheele, Lubbock, and lastly Akame the assassin,'' Naruto spoke all their names to prove that he knew them all.

''What about me?'' Tatsumi said feeling a bit left out by the fact that Naruto had looked at everyone but him. He didn't even say his name, and he was here in the room for Christ's sake! No wait a minute, he didn't look at Akame even though he said her name.

''You've yet to even join us, and you're still a newbie. No wonder you're not known,'' Mine retorted towards Tatsumi. She was a little ticked off by Naruto's response, and since she couldn't take it out on him, Tatsumi was the easy target.

''I just said I was joining a few moments ago before he came,'' Tatsumi stated. He then grinned. ''Perhaps you were a little too short to hear me...'' he teased gleefully earning a tick mark on the pink head's forehead. However, before she could even say anything, Naruto spoke.

''You're Tatsumi,'' Naruto stated. ''The reason you find yourself here is because of your naivety that allowed Leone to scam you all your money. Without money, you had nowhere to go and ended up being picked up by filthy pigs. The chain of reaction followed suite and here we are.''

That was what happened. But how did he know about all these? He knew their names and knew this place without either of them telling him. They didn't leave any traces for him to follow and they always made sure that they never left anything behind.

''How do you know all these, Naruto?'' Najenda questioned curiously. There was no suspicion in her tone, just plain curiosity.

''We'll talk about it later before I leave,'' Naruto said before turning his attention to Leone. He walked towards her before standing inches away from her. Empty eyes stared into the smiling blonde. ''You call yourself protectors of the people, yet you scam people. Tell me Leone, would I have been wrong to kill or punish you for swindling Tatsumi?''

Leone blinked. He was being deadly serious. ''Aren't you a little too serious?'' She asked nervously.

''Tatsumi was just an innocent village boy who didn't know anything about the cruelty of the Empire. Do you know who made him experience loss and how harsh this place is? It was you. Shouldn't you have been the one to rescue him from people trying to rob him rather than be the one to rob him? Aren't you a defender of justice?''

''I may have swindled him, but it all worked out - no harm was done.'' Leone defended herself. However, even she knew that if Tatsumi hadn't been picked up by Aria, things would have turned into another angle.

''Is that your excuse?'' Naruto asked. ''I do not like hypocrites. Do you know what could've happened if a slave driver had found him bundled in a corner, naive as he is, hungry, with no one to turn to?''

''I didn't take his money to drink with it; I gave it to someone else who needed it.'' There was no time for playing; this guy was deadly serious and her boss didn't seem like she was going to step in the line to save her.

''So you are saying that Tatsumi didn't need it...'' it wasn't a question. He was merely stating a fact. She had said she took the money from him because she wanted to give someone who needed it. By that reason she means to say that Tatsumi didn't need it.

''No that isn't what I'm suggesting,'' Leone held her hands on front of her in a defensive manner.

''You didn't care about Tatsumi because you didn't know him. That is why you stole from him to feed those you cared for. If he wasn't good with a sword, you would've watched Akame kill him. Correct me if I'm wrong.'' Naruto paused for a moment to see if she would object. ''You scam them, and then you watch them get killed. Are you really a defender of the people?''

''Naruto, that is enough!'' Najenda finally stepped her foot down, having heard enough. This, it only meant he was back to his former no nonsense-self. Ah, this was going to be a pain. ''I'm sure Leone will not do it again. Won't you find better alternatives to feed those people, Leone?''

The blonde nodded. ''Of course, I will.''

Najenda smiled at Naruto, ''Is there is a problem?''

''You're acting like a protective mother, Najenda.'' Naruto said, returning to her side. ''I must warn you though; if she does it again and the Army of Black sees her, they will take her away. I do not like people who paint themselves as knights of justice while their insides are rotten.'' His army was not operating that way, but some of them were just present, having travelled with him. They'd come here to see their beloved ones. But they would be leaving, soon.

''Did you come here with your army?'' Najenda asked lightly. She wasn't going to question him on what they'll do if they do catch Leone in her acts again. She was also 110% positive that he was dead serious and would punish anyone who wore a mask of justice while corrupted inside. Even if she tried something, in this state, he wouldn't listen to her.

''Only a small group,'' Naruto said, turning around to face Night Raid members again. A tiny smile found its way into his face when he looked at Sheele, yet the look in his eyes remained empty. ''Hello Sheele, pleasant to see you again.''

Sheele never got to respond as she was assaulted by a question from Lubbock. ''You two know each other?''

Sheele nodded, ''In a way,'' she said quietly.

''Najenda, why don't we go out on a date? I haven't done that in 5 years, and I'm sure you haven't,'' Naruto said smiling. It was a complete flip of his personality. His eyes still remained empty though.

''No,'' Najenda responded. ''You're still dead. But if you feel alive enough, search for Esdeath, I'm sure she wouldn't mind.''

Somehow, Lubbock felt relieved that she turned him down. Regardless, it seems like he's gained a rival. And things didn't look set for his favor!

''You're so cold, Naje-chan,'' Naruto said. ''Well, anyway, walk me out,'' another flip. It was about time to leave this place. He had to play politics with some nobles before leaving, for a few days. He'd gathered enough Intel already.

''Fine,'' Najenda said standing up. ''Don't wait up; I might return tomorrow.'' She said to her subordinates. ''Don't worry, everything is alright.'' she added seeing their looks.

''Ara, I didn't think you were this eager to spend the night with me, Naje-chan,'' Naruto said smiling.

''In your black dreams,'' Najenda responded as the two made way out of the base.

Before they could disappear Lubbock spoke. ''Don't you need a body guard, boss?'' He asked nervously. He just wanted to make sure that nothing happened between those two. If Naruto was going to spend the reminder of the day, and the whole night with her, then something he didn't want to think about would happen.

''No,'' Najenda responded. ''You stay here and insure that this place is safe.'' The leader of Night Raid said as she disappeared off with Naruto.

Once they left, Tatsumi spoke. ''Is it just me or did that guy just ignore Akame?''

Mine nodded. ''It isn't just you; he ignored her presence. He gave a slight nod to Bulat when he was leaving. He'd already spoken to us, either directly or indirectly. But more importantly, I hate that guy.''

''What, he doesn't seem so bad. I may actually like him,'' Tatsumi said. The first person, who told him that he was swindled by Leone, had said it was his fault for being too trusting. But that attitude was not right; it wasn't the thinking of just people.

''You're only saying that because he was defending you.'' Leone responded quietly.

''Well, you did scam me, so I would say he isn't that bad.''

''No, that guy is the worst. He left with Najenda. Who knows what he is going to do to her?'' Lubbock said, looking as though he was ready to follow the two who'd left. ''On the other side of things; he did make a good point Leone.''

Leone didn't get to it; she turned her attention to Sheele. ''How do you know the infamous General Black anyway?''

''I don't quite remember.''

**That concludes entry 1. I've brought Naruto's oath into something simple to understand. So, I don't think anyone will be questioning just what his oath is. Some characters may appear oc; I'm afraid I can't draw them out all as they are in cannon. **

**Naruto will not be a member of Night Raid; he has his own army – The Army of Black. However, he will still hang around some of the members, Najenda especially.**

**Naruto's character will be a bit psychotic at times. But as the story progresses, I'll stabilize his mentality. The Emptiness in his eyes is who he is, and what is in inside his heart. The flashback was just showing how Naruto was like before he allowed Miya to enter his life and change him. **

**I will not comment on pairings; I've yet to decide which I will go with. I was thinking of Sheele or Najenda, but eh… I will see what I'll do. It is unlikely with how "empty" Naruto is that he will actually love someone. His actions towards Najenda in this chapter are irrelevant since that is not his "true self," ultimately, he isn't being honest.**

**I wish Honest was dead, but he isn't and that is the way things are. Well anyway, Naruto will not kill Honest in the same way Leone did in the Anime - No, there won't be any satisfaction in that way. When he does kill him, it will be worth the wait. I don't know when it will happen, but it won't be at the end of the story. **

Thanks for your awesome support.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Black Purge**

Naruto watched as Bulat trained Tatsumi. These subordinates of Najenda really were capable assassins. Their job in eliminating the corrupt targets that are within Honest's list of payroll really didn't make the capital a safe place to live. However, it did well in reducing the vermin's control over the capital. The more spawns they eliminated, the more of the devil's power they reduced.

He guessed Night Raid was only preparing the way for the main army in the revolutionary command to attack easily. While these have people have painted themselves as targets, they're also carrying the darkness of the kingdom. On paper, Night Raid and the revolutionary army weren't connected. But in reality, there were connected, they were one thing.

Night Right was like the covert corps of the revolution, however, once the main army takes center stage, Night Raid would still be enemies of the Empire, even if the revolutionary army does defeats Budo. They were already painted as criminals, and while those in the poor districts worshiped them, the rich in the inner circle wanted them dead. The ''crimes'' they have committed will not be easily forgotten, and whenever someone was trying to overthrow a government, someone always had to take the fall.

Still, he wouldn't allow anyone to interfere with what he has planned. No one, not even Najenda, not the revolutionary army and the only one who was going to kill Esdeath and Honest was him. He would kill anyone who stood in the way of his kill. Syura had to be the first to see the gates of purgatory, though. The thought of that vermin who dead defiled Miya made his soul tremble violently.

So far, he had no relations with the revolutionary army's command center. The Generals who led the movement probably didn't like him at all since he didn't get well with others aside from Esdeath and Najenda during his time as a soldier if the empire. Well, even if they didn't like him, they would be forced to negotiate because they need him and his army. Aside from his power, he still held a large stake in politics, nobility and royalty.

His little rampage was kept away from public eye as it would cause panic around the people. However, nobility and others were told the details. It didn't matter to Naruto anyway. He could always talk his way into the court, no, that was not it; he could always force his way into the court.

It would be a shame if his army were to clash for power within the Kingdom. Naruto didn't hold back the possibility of such an ordeal occurring given that his army was unique and some of its beliefs may not be in line with the revolutionary movement. A power struggle was on the cards as they would feel they've been fighting for too long and deserves to be in charge of the kingdom to maintain peace and order.

Naruto wasn't interested in ruling any form of power in the Imperial Kingdom. He just wanted to live through his oath and return to Miya before setting new goals. However, he wouldn't allow incompetent fools to lead the kingdom. But that was not something to worry about now at this time, he would worry about it when the time does come.

''Who are you planning on killing?'' Najenda asked coming behind him. She saw that he was just standing alone, hands in his pockets. She couldn't see where his eyes were focused, but she could feel that his mind was elsewhere.

Naruto didn't even turn to face the former General. ''No one,'' he said. ''I don't really have time for killing worthless pieces of meat unless I'm forced. Don't you see that I don't even carry a weapon with me?''

It was something that Najenda was starting to question. In all his time within the Imperial army, Naruto always carried two swords. First it was Teigu and his prized Amaterasu, infamously branded, ''the blade of black.'' Almost everything with him was associated with black. Yes, his blade was black, it could produce black flames, and he usually wore black, but did everything have to go with black?

Anyway, at first Naruto carried a Teigu and his prized blade. But only a month after Honest became Prime Minister, he was forced to give back the Teigu. It was obvious that the man was just trying to strip him of his power. Still, Naruto had another blade forged for him so that he could still carry two swords.

He didn't like bringing out his precious weapon for trivial things or weak people; hence he always carried a secondary weapon. However, with his Teigu, it wasn't always like that. The Teigu was used for more silent kills, while his precious Amaterasu was used for a more explosive show of power.

''But trouble will come your way, and what will you fight with? Can you even move as fast as you used to? The battle with Esdeath and Budo must have done a number on you. Regardless of how powerful you're, you couldn't have escape both of them without any damage,'' Najenda said. She forgot to ask him details about the battle. Perhaps she was a little too happy to see him alive to ask about it.

''I said I don't carry a weapon, I didn't say I don't have one,'' he doubted she would understand what he really meant by that though. ''Anyway, I'm perfectly fine, Najenda. I did not battle Esdeath a few days ago; it has been five years already.''

More importantly, it wasn't he who had the scars, it was Esdeath. And they would start itching when she sees him again. Naruto felt like exploding in pure bliss at the thought of seeing that woman again. He wished time would move faster so that she could return for him to see her look at him with a look of horror. It filled him with intoxicating excitement just to think of what her reaction would be to see him alive.

''I hope you're; I'm gone need you at your best for this kingdom. And I wish to see you live past all these,'' she smiled at him. Really, she didn't want to experience another of his ''death'' again. She'd already experienced once, and it was enough.

''Do you plan on using me, Naje?'' Naruto asked with a raised eye brow at her statement. She sounded like she had plans for him. It was a little amusing. ''Or is it maybe that Naje-chan wants me to live past the revolution so she could finally get me on the sack and have a family with black? i didn't know you wanted to be the wife of Black and have children of black.''

Najenda snorted, but with a small smile. ''In your black dreams,'' she said. ''It wouldn't be a bad plan though.'' she said in thought. It was said purposefully because she sensed that Lubbock was eavesdropping on her conversation with Naruto.

''Not at all. It would be even better if we keep Esdeath alive just so she could watch us. We could keep her as our dog, and use her for entertainment.'' Naruto said with a nod. ''Why don't we make a deal, Naje-chan...''

''I'm listening... But it better not be anything twisted...''

Naruto merely smiled. ''After everything is done, and both of us have survived, you and I should hit it.'' Yes, he said it, and with a straight face. Lubbock almost yelled ''Whaaat?'' when he heard those words.

Najenda seemed to think about it for a moment before she finally responded. ''If you strip Esdeath naked while she is walking within the streets of the capital, I wouldn't mind, only once though. If that is difficult for you; you can forget about the deal.'' Though she was just joking, she couldn't say the thought of sleeping with him never did come across during those days. Things were now different, though.

''You're killing me Naje-chan. You know Esdeath would put me in one of her cells and torture me until she finds something else to do,'' Naruto said, cringing at the thought of being in one of Esdeath's torture sessions.

''You came back from the dead once, you can do it again,'' Najenda shrugged. ''What do you think of him anyway?'' she said looking straight at Tatsumi. She could see the potential in him and if he was trained well, he could turn out to be a very capable warrior.

''I see potential, but that is all it is,'' Naruto responded calmly. ''In this line of work, he is most likely to die without exploring the fullness of his potential.''

Najenda sighed. ''Can't you keep your comments light?''

Naruto merely shrugged. ''I'm tired; show me your room so I can get some sleep. I really had a tiring night and I haven't been able to sleep well in past week. Perhaps I might be able to sleep in your bed - you scent is is quite hypnotic.''

Najenda frowned slightly; he wasn't joking. Although his body didn't show it, she could guess he was being serious. She did note he spent the whole of last night wide awake. His eyes during the morning did not make her happy. ''When did you last sleep?''

''Four days ago, but my head still feels fresh. However, I feel that my body is saying otherwise.'' Naruto paused for a moment as a thought came up to him. ''You can be my pillow when I sleep...''

''No,'' Najenda said. ''If you want to sleep with someone, call Bulat, I'm sure he'll give you all the comfort you need.''

''That isn't funny Najenda,'' Naruto said in a tone that wasn't contradicting with the emptiness in his eyes. ''In any case, I should get out of here but I will return later with a request.''

His ''flips'' were starting to make Najenda worry. She was starting to question if he really was able to recover from nearly losing his mind five years ago. Najenda shook her head. ''I have one request first.''

''What is it?''

''I wish to see how he and Akame can do against you. As you can see, I'm not suited for sword play, but it has always been your specialization regardless of the kind of blade your hold.''

She really wanted to see him fight; she wanted to see those battle-formed eyes he always birthed when he entered into the fray. Somehow, she felt that if she saw that look in him again, if she saw him swinging his blade like when he used to when cutting down his enemies, she felt that she would be assured that everything would be alright.

''Fine then, as long as they don't bore me. But they shouldn't excite me too much or things will turn black,'' Naruto said walking over towards Tatsumi and Bulat.

Najenda merely shook her head. Black was the theme in everything, and she knew what exactly he meant by 'everything will turn black.' Getting him too excited is no different from making Esdeath bleed - you know after that she is going to have a maniac grin and dart towards you like the cruel sadist she is. ''Lubbock,'' she called. The loyal green haired quickly appeared before her in a flash. ''Call Akame for me.''

Lubbock went away to do as he was told by his boss.

Bulat looked at the incoming Naruto with a small smile on his face. The former General was walking in a leisurely pace, hands inside his pockets. You'd expect his expression to be one of complete boredom given his body language, but it wasn't. ''Do you wish test your might against us?''

''Najenda wants to see how you can do against me.'' Naruto responded, looking at Tatsumi rather than Bulat with whom he was talking to. ''Honestly, I don't know how I will do since I haven't drawn a sword in more than three years.''

That is about 2/3 of the time he spent ''dead.'' Bulat was quite honestly surprised by such a revelation. Well, it would explain why he didn't have a weapon on him. ''It will be quite a test to cross blades with someone of your stature, but I'm always looking forward to test my limits.''

''Well, there is no harm in knowing where you fail.'' Naruto said. ''A man who doesn't know his limits is no different from a man carrying a sack of arrogance on his shoulders.'' Naruto paused, and looked at Tatsumi rather intensively. His stare only made the rookie of an assassin a bit nerved.

''Assassins are killers, murderers if you could say. For as long as I have lived, I have come across what you call ''good assassins''. Regardless of the kind of targets you kill, you're still committing murder. A true assassin eliminates the targets of his/her ''master.'' No questions asked.

Night Raid assassinates all those who they deem to be ''corrupted scumbags''; a real assassin targets those who are ''bad'' to the master. You seek a revolution, an empire of freedom, to do this, you eliminate your targets, and those people who you believe are corrupted. Killing some of your targets frees maybe a single person, but not the empire.

There are many vermin running loose in the capital, spraying all sorts of bloody and filthy things to the precious people. Killing a few doesn't do anything, it makes no difference. Perhaps to you - your objective is complete after all.''

''Are you trying to say that what we're doing makes no difference?'' Bulat questioned, even though Naruto wasn't directly talking to him. He and Tatsumi were in the same course, of course he would question. He believed he was making a difference after all.

''If you kill a demon, the devil will make another one. If you kill a corrupt official, and as long as the vermin that spits them out is still breathing this precious air, it will make another corrupt official and the people suffer again. Your actions now are only a temporary solution until the revolutionary army takes center stage.''

He had nothing against these people - they were Najenda's people after all. But without eliminating the root of the problem, nothing was solved. It would be easier to rid of all meat bags, stained by Honest, if the devil himself was dead.

''But don't worry, as soon as Esdeath returns, I will make that ''thing'' cry,'' Naruto stated with a small smile on his face.

Tatsumi wasn't too sure the smile Naruto placed on his face was healthy. In fact, he wouldn't want to see it on someone who was going to be his opponent. Bulat didn't see it since the blond wasn't looking at him. ''You sound confident you can do it, but why wait for Esdeath?'' Bulat questioned. If they were ready for it, they would match over to the royal palace and smite that corrupting vermin for a human.

''There is no one in the royal palace that can stop me, but waiting for Esdeath will be worth the wait. I want Honest to suffer will all his tools available to him,'' Naruto responded before looking at the other side, his left.

Naruto looked at Akame for a moment before he looked back at Tatsumi. He didn't say a word; he merely did a quick spin, left foot raised high. Tatsumi quickly raised the side of his sword on his right side to block the high kick. What he wasn't expecting was for the kick to have more power than Bulat's. In more than one way, Bulat looked stronger than Naruto, physically, yet his kick packed some weight more than the former.

The blocked kick sent the teen sailing on the other side of the training ground. Not to look weak, Tatsumi fought to regain his balance by flipping twice in midair, before landing down on the ground with both his feet, standing straight.

He looked back at Naruto; his left foot was still raised above ground. Slowly, it was returned to its rightful place. ''My feet still move well,'' Naruto mused loudly before he turned around to face Bulat. ''I really need a warm up before facing Najenda's top subordinates, but he is a little bellow my standards, and I'm not much of a sadist to beat off a weak child for my amusement.''

So kicking Tatsumi was his way of testing if the boy could handle himself if he were fighting against him, Bulat thought mildly. He didn't just brush off Tatsumi, he first test how quick he is to respond to surprise, and had been watching him while he was sparring with him. Tatsumi wasn't seen as someone who could give him a good warm up.

Bulat smiled. ''We'll take it slowly so you get attune your movements.''

Naruto tilted his head a little, appearing thoughtful. ''Assassin, hand me Murasame,'' for some reason, Akame knew he was talking to her. Out of everyone in the group, she was the only one who was a trained assassin. But Murasame was her Teigu, it had accepted her, and only she was supposed to use the blade. She didn't share her precious weapon with anyone.

''Why?'' That was the only word that left Akame's mouth. If she was going to battle him, how was she going to do it if she didn't have her blade with her?

''I require Murasame's assistance in warming up,'' Naruto simply said, while keeping his eyes away from Akame.

''Its okay, Akame,'' Najenda said with a smile. ''Naruto was Murasame's wielder before it came to you.'' The former general of the Imperial army said. Still, she was curious how he would do with Murasame in his hands. Well, that is if the blade allows him to wield it. She knew very well that the Teigu didn't just allow anyone to wield it.

''I know he used to wield it.'' Akame said. How could she not know that? This man did great when wielding Murasame, and if some rumors were true, he did more than great with the Teigu.

Akame held her blade with both her hands, she looked at it carefully before she threw her precious weapon at Naruto. The blond held out his right hand as the blade flew towards him. He caught it by its hilt, and immediately when he touched it, a dark crimson smoke begun to seep out of the blade.

Naruto merely smiled though. ''Are you really mad at me, Murasame? Are you mad that I didn't come to visit you after I gave you up?'' he asked holding the blade right in front of him. As though the blade was saying yes, the substance that was flowing out of it increased in mass. ''Don't be like that Mura...''

Lubbock shook his head at the image that was playing in front of him. ''Is he talking to it? I didn't know that it could speak...'' he couldn't be talking to himself, could he? No, he seemed sane enough to skip that part.

''As far as I know, Murasame doesn't talk,'' Akame said. ''Not with voices anyway.'' Her communication with her blade went through their feelings. She didn't know Murasame could speak, and she didn't think it could. You never hear Mine saying Pumpkin spoke to her even though the Teigu is connected to her feelings.

''That thing, does it mean Murasame is rejecting him?'' Lubbock asked.

Akame nodded.

Bulat looked at the scene in front of him with a small smile before speaking. ''It appears that blade isn't taking a liking to you,'' he said.

Naruto shook his head. ''Not at all,'' he said drawing a furrowed brow from Bulat. ''We're just sorting some things out to deal with our little miscommunication.''

Bulat nodded without asking much detail into it. ''Are you sure its safe to spar with that blade, I mean it does kill with one flesh cut.'' Murasame wasn't suited for sparring. It was a blade that was supposed to be locked up and only brought out in the face of enemies to be killed. If not, friendlies would be killed unintentionally.

''Have no fears, Murasame won't kill anyone I don't want to kill,'' Naruto said.

''What do you mean by that?''

''If Murasame kills anything it cuts then it is out of control. It wouldn't be any different than Pumpkin continuously firing bullets whenever it is brought out. Akame doesn't actually have complete control over this blade's power; otherwise it would only kill when she wants it to. You must have a mutual understanding and trust with your Teigu if you're to know everything about it.

For some time, one cut one kill was the case even with me. But I sought to change that. I couldn't spar with my comrades using it in fear of accidentally killing them. I fought countless battles trying to find the answer to all this. Eventually, I found the answer to be one simple concept; trust.''

''Trust?''

This also intrigued Akame greatly. She knew he was said to be able to cut comrades with the blade and surprising it wouldn't result in their deaths. She sought to understand how he managed to do it. Trust was putting it way vaguely.

''Trust is what I said,'' Naruto said a bit dismissively like he didn't want to explain about the matter. Naruto held Murasame in both his hands before swinging it one swift slash. He held the blade in front of him and faced Bulat. ''You're gone need your armor if you're going to battle me.''

''Didn't you say you needed a warm up first?''

''I did, but it will be boring if it isn't challenging,'' Naruto said.

''Why don't I challenge you first?'' Akame said walking into the fray. ''Bulat poses a more physical battle compared to mine. Wouldn't it be better to battle me first before Bulat? You can use all your remaining strength while fighting him...''

''That is okay,'' Naruto said before flicking Murasame back to Akame.

Akame didn't need an invitation to dart towards the blond; she sped through straight at him, holding her blade on her right hand in a firm grip. Murasame cut through the air as it sped towards Naruto from Akame's right towards his head. Despite Akame's speed, Naruto still managed to lean back a little as the blade sped past his face by a narrow margin.

He then jumped back to create some distance between him and Akame. He held out his right hand and black flames formed like a black mist. After a few moments, the flames dispersed, revealing a normal katana on Naruto's hand. It was just like Murasame, design and everything, but its hilt was just pure black.

''Is that your infamous blade?'' Akame questioned.

''Nop,'' Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. ''This is something I had forged in remembrance of Murasame. I haven't given it a rest run yet. But I hope that you...'' he trailed off when a crow flew down at him. He held hand is left hand and allowed it to settle down before speaking. ''It appears I must cut this short. Some agent matter has come up.''

''Are you just going to leave?'' Akame asked, feeling a bit let down because by the way he said it, it seems like he was going to leave without a battle with her. She wanted to kill Esdeath; she needed to measure herself with him if she was going to successfully do the deed.

Naruto stared at Akame for a few moments, before the blade on his right hand became engulfed in black flames and disappeared along with the flames. His expression looked a bit dim. She had noticed that he wasn't the least excited in doing battle with her or Bulat.

''Some other time,'' he said before turning to face Najenda. ''I'll return later on or maybe tomorrow - there is something I must deal with.''

Najenda was quiet for a few moments before she finally found her voice. ''Can you talk to me first?''

Naruto shook his head while walking away. ''The matter I must deal with is of utmost importance.'' His presence disappeared along with the gentle wind that washed over them.

''I was looking forward to the sparring session with him,'' Bulat sighed after Naruto had disappeared. He was a little disappointed that the blond chose to leave at that moment instead of finishing things with them. What could have been more important than giving them a good match?

Perhaps he had some deals to run back in the capital. He was a former General who was known to hold deep loathing to Honest - it wasn't a secret to other generals as they apparently didn't even begin to like each from their first meeting, that was before Naruto even found out the Prime Minister was the source of all menace to the people of the Empire he'd hoped to protect.

''Me too,'' Akame said, while holding Murasame firmly. Naruto held and communicated with this blade that was dubbed the demon sword in a special way. She wished to learn how to control and handle it with such perfection as he did.

Najenda's mind worked hard trying to figure what Naruto was really doing back in the capital. It didn't appear like he was really back here to fight, and saying that he hasn't fought in some time was really a surprise to her. Like Esdeath, during his General days, he was always fighting, defeating the enemies. She didn't think he was someone who could go for more than a year without drawing out his blade.

What could you be really doing, Naruto?

She could understand if he said he no longer fought because his army fought for him, but what she had come to understand is that Naruto wasn't always with them. In fact, he'd only met them recently once they gathered together - they were sorted into small groups to make their hiding places difficult to pin point.

There was something that Naruto was really doing, and she wanted to find out more about it. She had no doubt that he wanted the empire free, but the way he was speaking to Bulat made her question what kind of methods he was going to use to free the empire.

The revolutionary spy network must be either lagging behind or Naruto's army was just good at counter intelligence, otherwise, she would have known of his activities in the capital by now. More importantly, she would've known that he has been in the capital for about a month without him telling her about it. She really needed to go back there and check things out.

She couldn't afford to be lacking valuable Intel at a time like this, not when Naruto is back from the dead.

''Boss,'' Bulat called, rather seriously. ''Did you hear him?''

Najenda didn't have to ask what Bulat meant exactly. She knew he was talking about the proclamation Naruto made by saying he would kill Honest when Esdeath returns. He could do it if he wanted; Naruto knew the royal palace more than anyone in the revolutionary army. She had no doubt he could go there and leave as he pleases without anyone detecting him.

With what happened to Miya, it must be killing him to watch Honest continue to live his life so happily. But she guessed that Syura would have to be killed first before Honest followed next. Naruto was a patient person, but if he was saying he would kill Honest when Esdeath returns, then things would be happening way sooner than first thought.

''Do you think he will do it?''

Najenda nodded. ''Honest was marked long ago; it is already a matter of time. And if Naruto was willing to wait for five years, then he could also take some time. Nevertheless, now that he has shown up, it only means that he is ready to act.''

''What does this mean for us, though?'' Bulat asked. ''Judging by the look on his eyes when he spoke of killing the Prime Minister, I can say that he won't allow anyone to come between them.''

Najenda sighed; she really needed to talk to Naruto about this conflicting issues. ''It really doesn't mean anything to us. Naruto has the same objective as us, perhaps his ways maybe be different, but we will not stop doing what we've been doing.'' She paused for a moment before turning her heel. ''I'll talk to him to understand a bit more of his part or we may have problems along the way.''

Honestly speaking, Najenda didn't want to have any conflicting issues with him.

**Later**

There were so many rich people in the capital, yet they were so many people that were suffering under the iron fist of that despicable pseudo-human, Honest. Under the rule of that thing, the rich continued to be rich as long as they accepted the bribes from that tool. There seemed to be no justice in the capital as those who wished not to do wrong were brutally murdered simply because they refused to sell their souls to the devil.

Naruto didn't want it to continue to be like that, he wanted it to end soon. Emotions aside, what was left of what he felt anyway, that scum had to be killed to install a new world order. He wasn't willing to rush things like he'd done last time and ended up accomplishing nothing.

Well, the time away while playing dead has helped him immensely. His army wasn't just a normal army. Even if they were to be faced with Esdeath as their opponent and her own army, they wouldn't lie down, nor would they be purged by that sadist of a wretched woman. If he held Esdeath in his sight, her army couldn't shake his men - they would butcher her army.

His men were already elites before they disappeared from the face of the world; they were already in the top. After that, they'd spent the past five years doing nothing but train. Naruto wasn't there to supervise them since he had spent time away to deal with his own emotional issues, but once he'd met up with them, he could feel it in the atmosphere around them that those men were no longer mere mortals.

He had an army; he had connections, now he only had to set up things perfectly. What the revolutionary army had in their agenda wasn't his problem, he didn't think of what they were doing that much, he was more concerned about his own goals. True, they had the same objective; freeing the empire. But since the revolutionary movement was compromised of former generals of the empire, they wouldn't get along.

Naruto looked at the large mansion ahead of him; the home of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare. This woman certainly had a large home despite the fact that she lived alone with just her servants. Rich people tended to flaunt their wealth to show class. But she wasn't like that. This woman was wonderful to him. She wasn't what you call a kind person, but they got along.

Out of all the people he could call allies, aside from his men, she was the only person he counted on, she was the only person he didn't have to look on his shoulder whenever at her presence. She was always by his side, ever since their first meeting years ago, before she was even a minister, she has always been following after him. For her help, and everything she has done for him, Naruto would do anything for her, whatever she wanted, if he could, he would do anything, he would give her anything.

''What are you doing standing over there?'' a sing song voice called from the entrance of the mansion.

Naruto's focused look turned to the woman who was calling him. As always, she preferred elegance in her clothing. He took several steps towards the entrance before stopping in front of the woman, who was leaning against the door frame, hands folded across her rather sizeable bust - she could very well compete with Esdeath in that department.

''I was collecting my thoughts,'' Naruto responded before walking past her. But she caught his left hand, halting his movements. Naruto shifted his head without turning the rest of his body to face her. He merely gave her a questioning look.

''You didn't come back home last night, are you cheating on me, Naruto?''

Since he returned to the capital, this is the place he'd been using, this is the mansion he lived in, and mostly, it was beside this woman. Last night he had spent the night elsewhere with Najenda, so he wasn't able to come here, and it wouldn't be a wise choice to have brought back the leader of Night Raid into this place.

''You have to marry me first to ask me such a question, Aizawa,'' Naruto responded with a small on his face.

''I have tried to get you to marry me, but you won't budge,'' she sighed even though he was smiling; the look on his eyes just gave it all away. ''No matter how much I try to look away, that look on your eyes just rubs me the wrong way. Don't you have a poker face?''

''I have one, but I do prefer things this way.''

Aizawa shook her head. ''You can't work out deals looking like that, Naruto. Have you even noticed how tense our 'friends' become whenever you appear for our meetings?''

''I have noticed, I just never thought it was due to my expression. It is fine though, I will give you what you want,'' he gave her a perfect imitation of Schneizel's smile and glint in the eyes.

The minister smiled, ''now that is more like it,'' she said happily. She closed the door behind her and dragged Naruto away from the entrance. ''Are you going to tell me? How did it go with Najenda?''

''There was no progress with her - we just talked about the past,'' Naruto responded quietly while allowing the woman to drag him away. ''What is the hurry?''

''The urgent matters we have to deal with,'' she quickly said. ''Some of our friends are here to discuss the future, and I truly hope that we get somewhere today. We've been trying to get them to cooperate over the past days, and now they have agreed. You have to show them a little smile.''

Naruto didn't say anything until they were walking down the stairs leading to the underground facility within the mansion of the minister. The underground facility was used to host a number of his men who'd come with him and were in line to be posted around the capital for duty. He also used the underground facility as a place to hold meetings with some important individuals.

The mansion was tightly secure since his arrival. Not even a fly could enter the parameters without being detected. He assured supreme security around the place to guarantee that whatever was being done in secret under this place stayed that way. Not even Honest or one of his many nuisances could sniff out the scent of what happened behind closed doors.

''Smile a bit more, will you? If you keep that ''frown'' on your face, it may just be like that forever, and besides, I can't see how handsome you are when you're frowning''

The first person to sing such words to him had been Akane. Although he often dismissed her, he always did take her words to heart. Compared to Miya, Akane was a bit rough; perhaps it was why he was somewhat rough with her. Miya posed a more gentle touch with him, and was always behind him, just as Akane was.

There more those words were said to him, the more hypnotic they became, and soon he found himself being the gentle person he was before Budo forced him to change.

And now it was her saying these words. She wouldn't end up as the others have though. He didn't quite share the same relationship with her as he did with Miya, but he had known her for a long time - 9 years at least.

''I will try that. Well, it can't be helped if we want our friends to be comfortable in what their getting themselves into. The more comfortable they are, there more active they become. Being tense sets limitations on their participation,'' Naruto finally said as they continued to descend along the dimly lit stairs.

Aizawa nodded. ''They are also afraid to say anything because they somewhat fear you after you burned that man in front of them with that twisted look you had on your face.''

Naruto shrugged at that, ''he was contaminated, and I couldn't help myself.''

''That may be true, but you didn't have to react in such a manner. At least we all had suspicions about him,'' she sighed shaking her head. ''Leaving that aside, let us put on a good show today.''

Naruto simply nodded as they headed towards the meeting room where their guests had already taken their seats. There were about four men and three women that were inside their little meeting room. All had one thing in common: power and some influence in politics. Amongst them was the deputy chief of the Imperial Police, two representing wealthy families with close ties to the royal family, two leaders of villages under the empire and the chair of the 'People's Voice Committee.'

The People's Voice Committee was established in an effort to make the rulers of the country understand the needs of its people. Naturally it was comprised of rich civilians and poor in effort to work together to reduce the poverty within the poor districts of the capital and to fight off corruption. But since the government of Honest itself was birthed in corruption, they yielded little results and some of them were killed.

The committee had the support of the people, and for now, Honest thinks its dead since he murdered those who financed its activities. They only operated underground in fear of their lives.

Silence settled in as Naruto and Aizawa took their seats around the round table - it was like one of those board meetings. Naruto sat at the other side while the minister sat across him.

''Afternoon comrades,'' Naruto started, before smiling. ''I know we didn't start in the best way, but I assure you, you have nothing to fear when speaking your mind. We are trying to build something that will fight for the freedom of the Empire's people. So it is important that the freedom starts here within this room: everyone must be free. I always tell my men this: if you want to free someone, you have to free yourself first from that which binds you. If we're going to free this this country, we must first free ourselves, and be free amongst ourselves.''

Silence settled before Aizawa cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. ''What General Black is saying is that we need you to feel free and not hold anything back. If you feel that there is somewhere we are going wrong, don't be afraid to say it.''

''I never intended to keep my mouth shut,'' Edwin said, the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Police. ''I can guess that we've all been quiet because so far, there hasn't been anything for us to disagree on and we haven't discussed things in depths.''

''Excellent: I like people who are no afraid to show their boldness when fighting for the good,'' Naruto said with a small smile that was neither warm, nor cold. ''Let us get on to it, shall we?''

Nods of agreement followed suite.

''We are all here because we have rejected the rule of the Prime Minister and wish to remove his existence from this world. Now, I hold the power to do so, and can do it. But this is a big country. When we speak of this Empire, we must speak of the all the villages under the kingdom instead of just the capital. We cannot forget that it is not only that thing which is corrupt, but almost everyone, from guards to maids, they are all corrupted.

Even if that thing is killed, those corrupted fools who hold the gene of evil, gained from that thing, will also be running loose. Corruption has become part of the capital, it has become a lifestyle. Some have accepted it, and actually just watch as it happens. There is a saying that I heard, ''it is your own fault for being swindled.''

what we must understand is that we're not all the same and some people from villages have yet to be exposed to the cruelty of this place. You cannot blame a child for being naive. Those outside have no knowledge of what really happens here. Pathetically, when they get here, they either lose their freedom or die. Either way, they suffer.''

''There isn't much we can do about outsiders who don't know about the corruption that has fallen into our empire. I have a few men who I trust and know that they do everything to make these outsiders understand of the reality of this place. But they can't be everywhere,'' Edwin said in response to Naruto's words.

When people come here from outside, they are always told false stories that do not highlight the clear picture of this place. They come here thinking that this is the place where dreams come true, but the truth is that this is where dreams are crushed. So many women have been sold to slavery, sex slaves to be precise, and there hasn't been anyone to do anything about it.

The corrupted fools who did such despicable acts were getting a pay from Honest, and that meant that they had his protection. The demon was rather good at protecting his assets.

''Everyone in the capital knows what really happens, except those who choose to be ignorant of the reality. Even many from the villages that have been hit with heavy taxes have grown to loath the empire. So you can say that they have been exposed to some part of the Empires evil, especially when Honest doesn't like those who miss their payments,'' the chair of the People's Voice Committee said. She didn't have to spell it out to everyone for them to know what happened to those who missed their payments.

''Even though I am the Minister of Public Welfare, I can't do much to educate the people outside. But I can locate which villages are oblivious to the reality of things,'' Aizawa said. She did travel around the country looking at the situations within the villages under the Empires rule.

''We will discuss something about the oblivious.'' Naruto said. ''The reason I brought them up is because while we will have a duty of protecting them, if they aren't educated, they might be a stumbling block.''

''What do you mean by that, General? There aren't many villages within the empire than can hold us back, and besides, our focus must be on the capital, it is the source of all that is evil.'' Another member of the ''council of black'' said.

''Indeed the Capital is the root, that thing called Honest to be precise. We are looking to remove that thing and that child from the throne, in order to create a new world order. We will also be purging the evil within and burn everything that can't be cleansed. To the people oblivious, what we will be doing will be nothing more than rebelling against their beloved Empire.'' Naruto explained, Aizawa continued where he left off.

''If they think that we're rebelling, they will fight us, and this will most likely influence those other villages who've been suffering from Honest's rule to take action. They will most likely rebel against us in fear of suffering the same fate as they did when Honest was still alive. If one village starts causing trouble, the others are likely to join and we will be having an unstable Empire.''

Naruto picked up after Aizawa had done her part. ''What you have to understand is that those villages are not acting because they fear Honest, Budo and more especially Esdeath and her army. If those obstacles are removed, freeing them, they might just take the opportunity to break free from the kingdom.''

''What a messed up chain of reaction,'' another member said. ''Then, how do we deal with this?''

''My name is known from outside the capital since I spent my time out there. What I have done as a General has not been forgotten. But since it has been long, my power will be questioned. Before we do anything, we must develop communication with all the villages suffering under the rule of Honest. This way they know of our goal and we involve them. But there is no guarantee that they won't betray us when Honest is dead.

It won't matter much though. My army will be active to put out any fire that starts to build before any serious damage is done. Keeping in contact with these villages ensures that we're involved in their inner circle and surely if they plan to betray us, one of their own will inform us.''

''What of the oblivious then?''

''The People's Voice will have to form smaller groups that will expose the truth within the empire. It won't be easy to do so. But when Esdeath has returned, my survival will be made known to the country. You can use my name as a reference to assure people that your claims are true. It won't be easy though. That is why we will have to gather evidence to prove it.'' Naruto paused for a moment as a thought came. ''Or we could just have them send one of their own to the capital to see for themselves. This will give them the assurance that we're not hiding anything.''

''Then we have to wait until Esdeath returns to be active...''

''Not at all,'' Naruto said to Ayano, chair of the People's Voice Committee. ''You will keep operating underground, but it won't be long until Esdeath returns. That thing is growing weary of Night Raid, and will wish for Esdeath to eradicate them.''

''Wouldn't it be better to act now before Esdeath returns? That woman is dangerous and it won't make things easy for us if we have to face her as opponent.'' One of the Nobles said.

''Finish your thoughts,'' Naruto said silently. But still didn't have the patience for the man to muster his courage. ''If you're concerned about your safety should Esdeath return, have no worry. My men will protect you and your families if it comes to light of what we're doing. I will keep Esdeath entertained, so you have nothing to worry about.''

''What of Night Raid, and the Revolutionary army?'' Edwin asked. ''While Night Raid are painted as criminals, in actuality, all they do is eliminate the scums for the capital. Those in the poor districts can testify to this. The Revolutionary army has been soundly quiet, but I fear they too may start acting soon.''

''You people don't know...'' Naruto said, tilting his head a little. ''Night Raid is part of the Revolutionary army. They just do the dirty work while the generals in the movement remain pure. Some people hate Night Raid and praise the Revolutionary army, but they are the same thing.''

''I suspected it was like that when I realized just who their targets were.'' Edwin said. But he could actually never prove it. ''Then shouldn't we make contact with them? We will most likely clash if no communication with them is set.''

''I will see what I can work out, but we will do what we must,'' Naruto said, standing up. ''This is just a reminder: the real battle begins when Honest has been killed. When that thing is dead, the chains holding its spawns will shatter and they will run around the country causing trouble. This will give us much more to do, but we will prevail and re-educate the Empire and her people.

I am not a revolutionist, but I am he that seeks to cleanse this kingdom. Our movement is to purge evil and re-education the empire's people. I guarantee that failure is not an option. We will prevail against everything that stands in the way. You have the word of black that you're not mere pieces in my chess board, but valuable comrades who I will protect with all my might.'' That said, Naruto walked away.

After Naruto had disappeared, Aizawa stood up. ''We will discuss much more about how we will proceed with things, and lay tangible plans in our next meeting. For now, get ready and make sure that your resources are available.'' She paused for a moment before adding. ''What I can tell you is that Naruto will take ''care'' of Honest and Esdeath. You're not going to be involved in any battles. But there are campaigns that we must embark on to get the people's support. People do not know us, but they know Night Raid and the Revolutionary army. We must also make our name out there to gain the support if we are going to change this country.

Changing this country doesn't just end in killing Honest - it has more work after that. This first battle is risky and dangerous, but more work is done after Honest has been removed - as General Black has said. Our aim is to purge the evil in the empire and re-educate her people to think better and stray away from corruption.''

''What do you mean re-educate people? The General also said something like that...'' one of the members questioned in a matter of curiosity than anything.

''I believe it is simple to figure, considering all that General Black has said,'' another responded quietly. ''He said that everyone was corrupt, the whole system is corrupt. Even if we do rid of Honest, the officials who do corruption will continue to do so. Even the guards, Imperial Police members will still be extorting money from people: they will be a bit cautious though. But the fact remains, corruption will continue because it has become part of people's lives.''

Aizawa nodded before adding with her own words. ''It will be very hard for those in corruption to leave their behavior. We also cannot kill everyone because they are corrupt. We must first look into their activities and determine if they are worthy of a death penalty. If we just kill everyone in the capital who is corrupt, we may just kill almost half of the Empires people in the inner circles, and that will destroy the economy.

I believe this is what the General meant when he said they would rid of all those who can't be cleansed. People have embraced the mentality of a corrupt world, and we must take that away from them. The poor districts are not so much of a problem since the death of Honest will mean freedom for them. But you cannot forget that they now live by stealing, do you think that they will just leave that after Honest has been killed?''

Once you got used to do something as a person, it was never easy to leave it because your mind has programmed that activity into your DNA. Once something becomes a habit, it sort of hypnotizes you into a trance. Corruption lies, and stealing, they were no different from smoking. A smoker doesn't just wake up in the morning and say ''I don't feel like smoking''. Never, he is always craving for a smoke.

''If that is so, then we have much work to do...''

Aizawa nodded. ''This is why I told you get your resources ready for work. But we alone like this cannot change everything completely. General Black has already spoken to the old Prime Minister and he will be with us once everything is secure.'' she minister took her leave after saying those words.

''Well, that went better than I had anticipated. Our last meetings didn't yield much, but now we can see where we are going,'' Edwin said taking his leave. ''But I didn't think the old Prime Minister would be joining us. Well, it works better for us - That old man is loved by most population and I have no doubt that Honest sees him as a threat.''

''That will only make it difficult for him to get here without Honest killing him. We all know that it won't be long before that man sniffs that we are planning to overthrow his rule.''

''Let him find out. I doubt there is much that we will be able to do about it. There is still Night Raid that he must deal with, and I am positive that he was shaken to his core when General Black almost killed him. I'd never seen the man so afraid in my entire life than that day, so I am sure if he comes to light that our General is still alive, he will have to deal with sleepless nights.''

**Later that day**

Naruto sighed when he saw Aizawa enter his room - she should be sleeping instead of checking up on him. He put aside the book he was reading on the nightstand on the left side of the bed. The woman was holding a glass of water, and something in her left hand.

''You're still having those sleepless nights, I see,'' Aizawa said as she placed the glass on the nightstand and two small tablets. She then slipped under the sheets and sat up, facing Naruto. ''I brought you something that will help you.'' Her eyes shifted at the things she brought.

''Thanks,'' Naruto said, with a small smile. ''What is keeping you up?'' It was already past the time she usually sleeps. The woman often slept early due to the mind stress she has to handle from her work. It was also troubling since she always had to deal with Honest's crap every day.

Life wasn't easy being a minister not within the Prime Minister's payroll.

''I've just been thinking,'' she started softly. ''You weren't feeling well when you returned to the capital, and ever since you returned, you've avoided to even look at the walls that surround the royal palace, and you don't talk, in detail, about what happened after you ''died''', I guess I am a little worried about what is causing your insomnia.''

Comfortable silence settled in for a few moments before Naruto spoke. ''I often forget that you were just a doctor when I met you, and I remember that Budo forced my meeting with you as he was saying I was losing myself in battle.'' A small smile spread across face while looking at the woman on his right side.

That was long ago, at least 9 years ago. He was just a young solder back then. Even so, he was a young soldier who butchered whatever stood in his way. During those days, he often used Murasame than Amaterasu. Despite being so young, he wielded the demon Teigu like he was a veteran in sword-play, and he didn't show mercy when holding that blade.

Murasame did kill with just one strike after all. So he had the perfect excuse.

He almost battled from morning till night. The enemies were charging at large during those days, and rebellion was in fashion as people had seen that the Emperor had become old, and they thought that his power had also weakened. But he was there to quench those thoughts and force everyone back to their shelters. He never did anything other than battle.

Budo forced him to return when his commanding officer had said he needed some time off after he feared he might be consumed by the bloodlust Murasame gave off whenever he entered into a ''killing spree.''

''We were both skilled at what we from a very young age. I shouldn't have been a doctor at that age, but my father forced education on me, and I ended up doing well far better than expected,'' she didn't resent her father for it though. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here. Perhaps he knew he was going to die soon before she could fully mature. ''Tell me, Naruto, what is bothering you?''

Silence settled again. Naruto sighed before responding with a question. ''Must you always be trying to enter into my head?''

Aizawa smiled sadly. ''It isn't like that: I just worry about you. I have always worried about you. Perhaps you may have never noticed back then because you were so in love with destroying the enemies of the empire that you didn't care anything other than drawing your blade. After that, there was Akane, Miya, Esdeath and then Najenda.''

Naruto shook his head. ''I'm not dense and I've never been, not in this world. I knew you cared, I just didn't put an effort to show you that I knew because it was trivial compared to purging enemies of the Empire.''

''That was the thought, huh?'' the sad smile never left her. ''It was always about purging. I was never able to get close enough to you to change you, but I'm glad that Miya and Akane were able to do it, but you seem more like your old self than anything.''

''I try to put on a smile for Miya's sake. I know she would be scolding me for frowning all the time, but after everything; it is a little difficult to smile. A smile to me almost feels like a frown...'' Naruto shook his head, clearing the disturbing memories that were flooding his thoughts.

''You know, between Miya and Akane, Miya loved you the most. I always kept observing you, trying to see if I could get the chance to become close to your heart, but it never aroused - Miya was like the center of your world, she was your shadow, sometimes your reason. Honestly, I was jealous of the kind of relationship you two shared,'' Aizawa let out of a bitter chuckle before continuing. ''I think discarding what you shared with her is being disrespectful to her memory. You should never forget all the effort she went through to make you smile, Naruto.''

Naruto didn't respond.

Aizawa spoke again, nonetheless. ''Even though you won't tell me, I know you struggle with her death, especially since the man who brought it all to happen is still alive. The fact that you're choosing the Empire first over your vengeance torments you as you feel as though you've chosen the people over her.

This explains why you were able to sleep when you returned. But it has been weeks now and you've not made an attempt to kill the prime minister, a part of you disapproves, and you're locked in an internal battle; the logical part of you wishes to do what is right, in the right way, while the other part of you wants nothing but to murderer Honest in the most painful way possible.

Still I must commend you; someone would have already broken under that struggle. Especially given how much you cared for her, and how happy it made you to be in her presence. Even so, you don't want to do anything that will cripple the Empire, you want to save it. The only thing that keeps you going is the thought that Miya may have wanted this.''

Naruto looked up at the ceiling before responding. ''Have you really found a way to read minds?''

Aizawa smiled, "maybe I have," she said. ''Tell me, Naruto, do you blame yourself for Miya's death?''

Naruto got up from the bed. ''I need a drink,'' he said walking away. He stopped before reaching the door, ''no, I do not blame myself for her death.''

''Then everything is Honest's fault.'' Aizawa said. Someone had to take the blame. If it wasn't his fault, then it was someone's and that someone had to pay.

Naruto didn't respond, he just walked away to get his drink - he needed it.

**That is it for this chapter. As you can see, this is not one of those stories where the death of Honest means the end of the story. It won't be a very long story, but we will get somewhere. **

**I'm still not decided in terms of pairings, and there is a possibility that there might not be a pairing until the last chapter. **

**I still need the Beta – so if you read this story and would like to better the grammar, amongst other things, please PM me, I would very much appreciate it. **

**The title of this chapter is in reference to Naruto's goal; purging all evil against the empire. Black Purge, because he is called general black, and the purging will be done with black flames.**

**Thanks for the reviews.**

**The Omnipresent Sage **


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